Bulimia

Why has bulimia emerged as a common symptom in many psychiatric disorders? Could the food environment be the explanation? Certainly, many changes have occurred. First, foods high in salt, sugar and fat as well as palatability are a widespread resource. Second, eating is less embedded into social routines. Third, the desire to control body size is fashionable. If animals are exposed to similar perturbations in their environment, they binge eat and changes in brain reward systems similar to those with substances of misuse occur. Thus, food addiction could be a cause of the obesity pandemic with implications for policy needed.