Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa - When the pursuit of bodily 'perfection' becomes a killer

The stereotypical picture of an anorexic or bulimic patient as a driven young woman is no longer valid, if it ever was. The diseases may be manifest in an athlete who insists on training despite injury, or in a painfully thin grandmother who thinks she's holding onto her youthful figure. Most of those affected are too obsessed with their appearance, as they see it, to realize the medical damage being done. Dr Zerbe describes behavioral clues to eating disorders and the role of primary care physicians in intervention.