What is bulimia?
Bulimia is the commonly used term for bulimia nervosa, which comes from the Latin word bulimia, meaning insatiable appetite. Those suffering from bulimia display a more or less uncontrolled urge to binge -- to devour a large amount of food in a short time. These binge-eating episodes are followed by self-induced vomiting (also called purging), increased physical activity, and in certain cases, the use of laxatives. Like anorexics, bulimics are afraid of gaining weight.