Which statement best describes bulimia?

• A. Binge eating followed by purging
• B. Binge eating without purging
• C. Purging without binge
• D. Eating normally

Answer: (A)

Bulimia nervosa is defined by a cycle of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain. The key idea is that someone repeatedly consumes a large amount of food in a short period and then uses purging or other methods to get rid of the calories, often with a sense of losing control during the binge. This combination of bingeing plus purging is what distinguishes bulimia from other patterns.

If someone binge eats but doesn’t purge, that describes binge eating disorder, which doesn’t include the purging step. Purging without bingeing isn’t bulimia, since the binge episode isn’t present. Eating normally isn’t indicative of bulimia at all.