Epidemiology of bulimia and bulimic behaviors.

A number of studies in recent years have attempted to establish prevalence rates for bulimia as defined by the DSM-III criteria and for bulimic behaviors such as binge eating, purging, and restrictive dieting. The literature has reported widely differing estimates of these behaviors. A critique of these studies suggests that a variety of methodological issues probably accounts for the lack of consistency across reports. A review of the literature indicates that some behaviors which could be considered bulimic are extremely widespread. Some recent work highlights the importance of using both behavioral and attitudinal variables in an assessment of clinically significant bulimia associated with life impairment, which is much less prevalent.