History of Bulimia

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        For those of you who read the History of Anorexia (the page right before this!), Bulimia Nervosa (BN) appeared a little after Anorexia Nervosa (AN) did in the official timeline of eating disorder diagnoses classifications.

        1903 is the year when Dr. Pierre Janet observed bulimic behaviors in his patients. Other doctors in the early 20th century had recorded behaviors of patients differing from those diagnosed with anorexia, which had been an established diagnosis since 1873. These behaviors largely involved using compensatory behaviors (explained below) to maintain a low weight.

        The first instance we see of bulimia being categorized is in 1979, by a British psychiatrist named Gerald Russell. He described it as a "chronic phase of anorexia nervosa," where patients consume regular to large amounts of food and then use compensatory mechanisms - self-induced vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, or prolonged periods of starvation - with the intent of compensating for the food intake.

In 2013, with the introduction of the DSM-5, the definition and criteria for BN continued to evolve. A more recent development is the new categorization of purging disorder, which is different than a BN diagnosis- but, to be clear, is still an eating disorder diagnosis that may have many of the health repercussions that people who experience bulimia have.

        Today, between 1-3% of teenagers experience bulimia in the United States. Some of those teenagers began experiencing bulimia as young as age 5, and half of the teenagers diagnosed with bulimia are ALSO diagnosed with anorexia. While most bulimics identify as female, it's very important to recognize that 5-15% percent of people diagnosed with bulimia identify as male. Eating disorders are a disease that do not belong to any one gender identity or stereotype.