The loss of control in bulimia nervosa

✍ Scribed by G. F. Huon

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 63 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1072-4133
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0968(199709)5:3<208::aid-erv198>3.0.co;2-k

✦ Synopsis

The sense of loss of control that accompanies the binge-eating episodes in bulimia nervosa is pathognomonic for the disorder. This experiment, with bulimics and control subjects, examined the role of cognitive and of dietary factors in an increased appetite. Subjects were required to eat a breakfast that was high or low in carbohydrate, with and without knowledge of its contents. When bulimics knew they had had a breakfast containing carbohydrate, they ate signi®cantly more at the test meal 3 h later. Knowledge had no similar effect on controls. Moreover, the higher intake was largely accounted for in terms of carbohydrate; there were no differences in the amount of protein they ate. These ®ndings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding and for treating the loss of control in bulimia nervosa.