Unfortunately, ‘thin’ by today's standards, is something that is horribly hard to achieve. You can be sure that you’ll have to forsake all the best tasting foods just to get the desired body weight. So, in truth, most people don't really go as far as the supermodels do. After all, supermodels get paid to do what they do. Regular folk, on the other hand, don't need to stick by such a rigid diet, especially when there is strawberry soufflé to be enjoyed. That is just the way of the world; you can't have your cake and eat it at the same time.

Those with Bulimia Nervosa, however, are trying to get around this simple principle. You can call it ‘cheating’, but in reality it is just paying a far larger price for external ‘beauty’ than it is really worth. They are paying for it with their health.

Bulimia Nervosa is one of the most common eating disorders nowadays, with a prevalence rate that is three times than that of Anorexia Nervosa. Of course, this is quite understandable. After all, how many times have we wished for the ability to eat everything we want and not get fat?

People with Bulimia Nervosa have found a way to achieve this. They would go on an eating binge, taking in all the food they want. After this binge, they would start ‘purging’ the food out of their system. The most common form of ‘purging’ would be self-induced vomiting, which they do by tickling the back of the throat with their fingers. Other forms of purging include exercising excessively and using laxatives.

As expected, Bulimia Nervosa is more common in women than in men; in fact, most eating disorders are more common in women than in men. Its onset can occur at any point in a person's life. However, it mostly happens during the late teens when body image is a big issue. If left untreated, Bulimia may last until adulthood.

According to statistics, eight out of every one hundred women suffer from bulimia in their lifetime. Ten out of every eleven sufferers, moreover, are female.

The cause of Bulimia Nervosa, like other psychiatric disorders, has not yet been pinpointed exactly. Studies suggest that this disease can be linked to genetics and that it might involve a disruption in the serotonin system of the brain. Others say that it is because of a person's experiences while he/she was a child plus his or her experiences as an adult. Most probably, the true cause of Bulimia Nervosa is a combination of all the different factors: biological, psychological and sociological.

Some people, however, are more at risk of Bulimia than others. First of all, if there is a family history of Bulimia or any other eating disorder, the family members are more susceptible to Bulimia. Mood disorders like depression may also precipitate eating disorders like Bulimia. In fact, other psychiatric disorders have been shown to have a high comorbidity with Bulimia Nervosa as well as the other eating disorders. This is especially true in cases of borderline personality disorder and depression. Of course, due to the nature of this disorder, substance abuse, particularly of laxatives and emetics, is also a very common occurrence and is present in about 40% of Bulimia Nervosa cases.

People who are holding jobs where maintaining a certain body weight is a premium are also at risk for Bulimia. Gymnasts, models, and dancers are particularly prone to Bulimia Nervosa, especially if they are particularly dedicated to their careers.

People with Bulimia would go on a binge because eating gives them comfort. However, after they have eaten too much, they feel guilty for losing control. They subsequently feel dirty and disgusted with themselves. The fear of gaining weight also kicks in and adds its own brand of pressure. To get rid of all these negative feelings, they will purge the food out of their system.

The process of purging does a lot of damage in the long term, especially if left untreated. Repeated vomiting could actually lead to the corrosion of the lining on the esophagus. It may also cause sore throat, mouth ulcers, tooth decay, halitosis, and stomach problems. The repeated use of laxatives, on the other hand, would make a person dependent on them; specifically, the colon may become too weak to function normally and expel waste regularly and so a person will become dependent on laxatives for bowel movement. Purging through laxatives may also cause dehydration and severe electrolyte imbalances.

All types of purging, on the other hand, will eventually lead to kidney and heart problems and are thus extremely dangerous and even lethal. Many other health problems can occur along with Bulimia Nervosa. Osteoporosis can happen because a person's supply of vitamins and minerals may become too deficient.

Bulimia Nervosa is different from Anorexia Nervosa. Those who are afflicted with Bulimia are not necessarily very thin. They may have a normal body weight and may sometimes even border on the plus side. Unlike people with Anorexia Nervosa, moreover, those who have Bulimia are aware that they have a problem and they usually take specific precautions to conceal it. The only way that you can really determine whether or not someone has Bulimia Nervosa would be to monitor a person's behavior. Those who have the habit of going to the bathroom right after she eats should be watched closely. Likewise, those who are rather secretive about food and hides her food from others should also be monitored. Furthermore, those who are so obsessive about exercise that they still perform strenuous exercises even when they are feeling unwell may also be suffering from Bulimia.

Those who have this disorder also tend to faint often due to malnutrition. They base their self-worth on their weight and often overreact if they gain weight. Teeth marks or calluses on the back of someone's hands may also be a sign of bulimia; such marks are obtained due to the repetitive insertion of their hands into their mouths to induce vomiting. Most of all, when someone tends to overeat but does not gain weight, she probably has Bulimia.

Do you ‘eat to live’ or do you ‘live to eat’? For most people, it is a bit of both. Most of the time, eating is merely just a part of a routine that we do to get through the day in one piece. At other times, however, eating becomes a great source of enjoyment and pleasure; this happens when we eat at a gourmet restaurant or when we try that exquisite, new cuisine. It is perfectly okay to love food – it is, after all, both a source of joy and a source of sustenance. It is, however, completely wrong when someone loves food to the point of obsession. At that point, ‘eating to live’ turns into ‘eating to die’.

Indeed, Food Addiction is a condition that can easily turn fatal if not curbed. And it is important to know exactly when love for food is normal and when it is not.

Compulsive Overeating is an eating disorder which is characterized by an uncontrollable urge to eat. This uncontrollable overeating is often called ‘binging’. It is the same thing that people with Bulimia Nervosa do. But the difference with compulsive overeaters is that they do not feel the need to purge themselves of the food they have eaten, thereby resulting in intense weight gain.

During binge episodes, those who are afflicted usually continue to consume food despite the fact that they are already full. Moreover, although compulsive overeaters never feel the urge to purge themselves through vomiting or through laxative use, they are not exempt from the feelings of guilt and shame that are associated with losing control during binge episodes.

After they undergo a binge, they usually go on serious diets which they will most likely fail because of their attachment to food. This failure will then lead to greater disappointment and thus a greater need for comfort, which then leads to another binge episode.

Binging is not the only thing that characterizes this disorder, however. There is such a thing as ‘grazing’ behavior, which usually occurs when the person is not having a binging episode. While ‘grazing’, the person would commonly eat small portions of food continuously throughout the day. This results in an excessive intake of carbohydrates and even more weight gain.

When the weight gain is mostly through binging, however, a more specific term for the disorder is used, and that is ‘binge-eating disorder’.

However, unlike the other eating disorders, namely, Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa, the percentage of males who overeat are rather high. Compulsive overeating is commonly associated with obesity, as a lot of people who are obese become that way because of their binging habits. However, it should be noted that not all people who are obese have the compulsive overeating disorder.

The onset of Compulsive Overeating starts at childhood, right when a person's eating habits were being formed. It is said that when parents force their children to finish their meals even if they are already full or when parents press their children to eat more than they can, the children are likely to overeat once they become adults. Similarly, parents who always use the inducement of food as a means of placating or rewarding their children may actually predispose their children to compulsive overeating.

The most common reason for binging, and therefore for compulsive overeating, is to facilitate coping. It is some sort of defense mechanism for some people, a way of comforting themselves. Binging, therefore, is rather common during times of stress.

Some people also overeat because it is their means of protecting themselves. People who have a history of sexual abuse may think that becoming fat will make them less attractive and therefore less likely to be noticed by people and less likely to be subjected to the same abuse that they have experienced before.

People with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are usually overweight, sometimes even obese. Since they can't control their eating habits, they usually end up weighing more than they should. They are typically unhealthy and thus become susceptible to other serious conditions like cardiovascular disorders and diabetes.

If the weight gain is severe enough, the person may also experience mobility problems. Some of those who are morbidly obese cannot move themselves without external aid. Arthritis, Sciatica, and Varicose Veins are also rather common in people with this disorder, mainly because all of these are exacerbated by excessive weight. Their sleeping patterns are usually disturbed and they also usually have high blood pressure. They often present with shortness of breath and very high cholesterol levels. They are also rather at risk for kidney diseases and are in danger of suffering from a stroke.

These people usually eat even if they don't feel hungry. They spend much of their time fantasizing about food, although they mostly do this secretly. They eat rapidly and sometimes messily. They also prefer to eat alone because their eating habits make them feel ashamed; despite being overweight, people with Compulsive Overeating Disorder usually do not eat much when they are in public.

They are usually preoccupied with their body weight but are often caught in a vicious cycle of weight gain and weight loss. They immediately regain whatever fat they have lost in a failed diet. They usually have a history of weight fluctuations and they are usually known to have tried and failed at several diets over the years.

People who have compulsive eating disorder may often seem depressed and may have frequent mood swings. They are not in denial about their disorder and are fully aware that their eating patterns are not normal. To cope with this, they would go on diets, but as earlier mentioned, they usually fail to follow through because they are addicted to food.

They also tend to withdraw from social situations because their weight makes them feel inadequate. They tend to have low self esteem and usually believe wholeheartedly that their problems will be fixed and that they will become better people if they can only become thinner. They center their whole lives on their weight, and often attribute all of their failures, both socially and academically, to their weight.

By TTS Holistic Counselor Mehdi Jaffari