Each year millions of people in the United States are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. The vast majorities are adolescents and young adult women. Approximately one percent of adolescent girls develops anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. Another two to three percent develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by vomiting or other " purging " behaviors to control their weight. These eating …showed first 75 words of 1567 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1567 total…needs lots of understanding and encouragement to stay in treatment. NIMH continues its search for new and better treatments for eating disorders. Congress has designated the 1990's as the " Decade of the Brain, " making the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of all brain and mental disorders a national research priority. This research promises to yield even more hope for patients and their families by providing a greater understanding of the causes and complexities of eating disorders.