title: Monetary costs associated with bulimia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The direct monetary costs for food and laxatives, diet pills, and diuretics used by individuals with bulimia nervosa (BN) have not been studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  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).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Financial costs of bulimia symptoms are significant, and appear to constitute a substantial minority of all food spending by individuals with BN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. crowx002@umn.edu
authors.forename: Scott J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Crow
authors.forename: Maria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Frisch
authors.forename: Carol B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: Jillian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Croll
authors.forename: Susan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Raatz
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Nyman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000191:economics*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D014481:United States