Eating disorders not otherwise specified. These are not new disorders. Although anorexia nervosa was first defined as a medical problem in the late 1800s, descriptions of self-starvation have been found even in medieval writings. Bulimia Nervosa Bulimia nervosa is more common than anorexia and usually begins early in adolescence. In response to the binges, patients compensate, usually by purging, using self-induced vomiting, enemas, or by taking laxatives, diet pills, or drugs to reduce fluids.
Patients then revert to severe dieting, excessive exercise, or both.
The cycle then swings back to bingeing and then to purging again. Some studies have reported that patients with bulimia average about 14 episodes of binge-purging per week. To be diagnosed with bulimia, however, a patient must binge and purge only twice a week for three months. In some cases, the condition progresses to anorexia. It should be noted that young people who occasionally force vomiting after eating too much are not considered bulimic, and most of the time this occasional unhealthy behavior does not continue beyond youth.