Bulimia is defined as which of the following?

• A. Eating disorder where a person throws up food they consume
• B. Eating disorder where a person stops eating to be thin
• C. Loss of bone density
• D. High cholesterol

Answer: (B)

Bulimia involves a cycle of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise. This pattern—eating large amounts in a short time and then trying to purge or undo the effects—defines bulimia more than any single act like vomiting alone. The option that mentions vomiting after eating captures part of bulimia but not the binge-eating aspect, so it isn’t a complete definition. The other descriptions point to different issues: stopping eating to stay thin describes anorexia nervosa, loss of bone density is osteoporosis, and high cholesterol is a lipid disorder.