Tens of thousands of people in Britain are thought to suffer from bulimia, although the true figure could be much higher as many sufferers hide their condition.
The illness came to prominence in the mid-1990s when Diana, Princess of Wales,
admitted that she had been a sufferer
Photo: GETTY IMAGES
The illness came to prominence in the mid-1990s when Diana, Princess of Wales, admitted that she had been a sufferer.
Researchers found that during psychological tests sufferers reacted more impulsively than non-sufferers.
Asked to give an answer to a simple test they were more likely to plump for an answer more quickly, even when it could be wrong, the findings show.
Brain scans also showed different responses in the part of the mind that regulates behaviour.
Bulimia, in which sufferers binge eat and then purge to avoid gaining weight, often affects people in their teenage years or early adulthood.
It is most common in women and is often associated with a feeling of a lack of control.
"Patients with bulimia exhibited greater impulsivity than (non-sufferers), responding faster and making more errors," according to the findings, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry journal.
Even immediately after they had got one of the questions wrong they would still go on to make another unforced error for the same reasons, the study found.
This inability to regulate their behaviour could be part of the reason why they become bulimic, the researchers believe.
They called for more research into the problem and into ways that doctors can help patients to manage their impulses.
The study, by researchers from Columbia University in New York and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, tested 40 women, half of whom had the condition and half who did not. Figures released earlier this year showed that young people suffering from anorexia and bullimia were waiting an average of more than six months for treatment, with some waiting almost two years.( telegraph.co.uk )
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