Prevalence of bulimia in working and university women

The authors determined the prevalence of binge eating and bulimia in samples of 139 working women and 234 women who were university students. Although binge eating was found in 57 (41%) of the working women and 161 (69%) of the university women, the syndrome of bulimia was found in only two (1%) of the working women and 12 (5%) of the university women. These findings, although significant, stand in sharp contrast to popular reports that one-half or more of young women suffer from eating disorders. Further, they reveal systematic differences in the prevalence of bulimic behaviors between working women and university women. Results are discussed in terms of factors that might be associated with bulimia in these two samples of women.