What is the Meaning of: Bulimia | Concept and Definition of: Bulimia
Bulimia is a word of Latin origin (būlīmia) which, in turn, is borrowed from the Greek language. The term means any person feeling an inordinate desire to eat and who is unable to satisfy her appetite. The concept is used in medicine and in psychology, because bulimia nervosa is a mental disorder related to food.
The person who suffers from bulimia experience episodes where she swallow compulsively (she eats large quantities in very little time), followed by a great sense of guilt and the feeling of lack of control. These episodes are often alternated by periods of fasting or very low intakes of foods.
Although varied, the type of food consumed during compulsions bulimics tend to choose the sweets and high-calorie foods. Individuals who have this type of disorder are ashamed of their behavior and try to hide the symptoms.
People who suffer from bulimia also develop inappropriate compensatory behaviour in order to avoid taking the weight (to grow), such as the provocation of vomiting. It's a purging method which employ approximately 90% of the people who are treated in clinical centers. After having vomited, the bulimic ceases to feel physical discomfort and lose the fear of fat, but only up to what the cycle starts again.
Among the direct and indirect effects of bulimia, we will retain the aspiration (passage of gastric contents to the bronchial tree), the patient or gastric rupture, cardiac arrhythmia, dehydration, menstrual changes (the rules) and amenorrhea, advantage of dental caries and the fall of hair.