SELECTIVE DIETING PATTERNS AMONG ANORECTICS AND BULIMICS AT THE ONSETOF EATING DISORDER

A dietary history was used for assessing food selection and dieting pa tterns at the onset of the eating disorder in a hospitalized group of anorectic and bulimic patients. It was found that anorectics and bulim ics adopted different methods to achieve weight loss; anorectics lost weight by a reduction in portion size, while bulimics attempted weight loss with fad diets and leaving out meals. The time from start of ano rectic behaviour until onset of binge eating among bulimics averaged 1 0 months, after which time the patients adopted an eating pattern cons isting of intermittent starvation and binges. The findings are discuss ed in relation to the 'nutritional hypothesis' proposed by Fichter et al. (1988).