Taste Responsiveness in Eating Disorders

Patients with anorexia or bulimia nervosa suffer from disturbances in body weight and nutritional status. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme caloric restric-tion, avoidance of starches and fats, and a variety of metabolic and neuroendocrine dysfunctions associated with a severe loss of body Bulimia nervosa is charac-terized by uncontrollable eating binges that may be countered by fasting, purging, vomiting, or excessive physical e~ercise.~. ~ Patients with a combined diagnosis of anorexia nervosa with bulimia alternate periods of near starvation with recurrent eating binges that are followed by purging or self-induced vomiting to lose Both anorexia and bulimia nervosa represent nutritional as well as psychiatric dis-orders.8-10 Characteristic patterns of food aversion and uncontrollable food cravings have been linked to the patients ’ nutritional or metabolic Evidence is growing that uncontrollable binges are triggered by physiological events, and that food aver-sions may also have a psychobiological basis. Both physiological abnormalities and psychopathology can be reversed following weight regain and the resumption of normal eating habits.l4