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This research investigated the prevalence of bulimia and binge eating in 363 adolescent girls in the ninth through twelfth grade (X age = 16.0 years). Substantial proportions of these girls reported episodes of binge eating (46.0%) and acknowledged the use of self-induced vomiting (11.2%), laxatives (4.7%), and fasting (36.4%) as methods to control their weight. While 7.7% of the girls met the DSM-III criteria for the diagnosis of bulimia, the prevalence rate decreases to 2.8% when these criteria are modified to require the presence of at least weekly binging and purging only via self-induced vomiting or the use of laxatives. An additional 4.4% of the girls engaged in “problematic” binge eating. Comparisons with previous research are offered and diagnostic issues discussed.
Crowther et al. (Fri,) studied this question.