It sounds so simple: When you are hungry, you eat. When you feel full, you stop. But for the ten million Americans who struggle with eating disorders, it's anything but easy. Take, for example, a young woman who was arrested for stealing from a California grocery story. The suspect had stolen $10 worth of candy bars and other sweets and consumed it all - more than 4,000 calories - in 30 minutes.

"The suspect, Katie, was sobbing, very ashamed, and extremely remorseful. Katie, a student at a local community college, related that she suffered from bulimia nervosa. She had not intended to engage in theft while in the story, but became overwhelmed by anxiety and had an un-ignorable craving to eat... She then was compelled to rid herself of the calories and had induced vomiting in the employee's bathroom."

Though anorexia gets more attention, bulimia is actually more prevalent - affecting one in seven females ages 12-25. The medical consequences of bulimia - a disorder marked by bingeing, then purging, in response to feelings of depression, anxiety or worthlessness - are immense, and anyone who exhibits symptoms of the disorder needs to seek immediate help. Source: Officer.com.

Labels: bulimia, purging, shame