Disparities in Bulimia Nervosa: Who is Left Behind?

Bulimia nervosa (BN) is a serious eating disorder (ED) a icting a signi\u85cant number of female teenagers. We compare BN behavior with ED diagnosis among US teenagers using two com-parable data samples. We \u85nd that African Americans are more likely to exhibit BN behavior than Whites, as are girls from low income families. However, Whites are much more likely to be diagnosed with an ED, indicating important racial and class di¤erences in medical attention for BN. Thus greater outreach must be made in terms of diagnosing and treating BN among African American and low income teenage girls