Disorders of eating behaviour

anorexia nervosa and bulimia

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are eating disorders characterized by voluntary abstinence from food and by compulsive ingestion followed by vomiting, respectively. They syndromically consist of a series of psychological and behavioral disorders associated with somatic changes characteristic of malnutrition of the marasmus type, especially in cases of anorexia nervosa. These disorders have been predominantly reported for adolescent girls of middle to upper socioeconomic class, and almost always in developed countries. In the present study we report the characteristics of the clinical, anthropometric and laboratory diagnosis of 68 patients seen at the Outpatient Clinic for Disorders of Eating Behavior and of Weight of the University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, USP, from 1982 to 1997. Considering that these syndromes are highly  prevalent and are accompanied by high morbidity, a better understanding of their clinical manifestations is recommended both at the medical and populational level, so that a diagnosis may be made as early as possible, facilitating treatment and favoring prognosis.