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Monetary costs associated with bulimia
Author(s) -
Crow Scott J.,
Frisch Maria J.,
Peterson Carol B.,
Croll Jillian,
Raatz Susan K.,
Nyman John A.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/eat.20581
Subject(s) - bulimia nervosa , binge eating , food intake , psychiatry , psychology , eating disorders , medicine
Objective: The direct monetary costs for food and laxatives, diet pills, and diuretics used by individuals with bulimia nervosa (BN) have not been studied. Method: Ten participants with a presenting clinical diagnosis of BN completed a 7‐day food record at the outset of treatment in order to provide estimates of weekly and yearly monetary costs for food and associated symptoms. Results: Participants reported means of 3.6 purge episodes, 2.5 objective binge episodes, and 2.4 subjective binge eating episodes per week. Mean total food costs were $106.98/week (SD = $53.88) or $5,581.79/year (SD = $2,811.58). Costs associated with binge eating and purging were 32.7% of all food costs (average: $1,599.45/year). Conclusion: Financial costs of bulimia symptoms are significant, and appear to constitute a substantial minority of all food spending by individuals with BN. © 2008 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2009