If this is the magnitude of the very disease called Bulimia, what is its real cause? Is it the fallout of an extreme response to the pressure of the Western Society on young girls and women to be slim? Or there are more possible factors that do contribute a lot to this problem? Now, here is the most vital question, can these factors be influenced and the effects changed? But before entering into this territory we shall have to keep it in concern that all common factors, including genetic, environmental, biological have to be discusses, in order to find the causes of any diseases or disorders. Now, what are the causes of the Bulimia? It has been proved though scientific researches that people in general are born with an innate tendency towards the development of bulimia, in particular the areas where vulnerability to addiction happens to be in the genes. At this juncture it is revealed that the bulimics do inherit a gene accountable for the addiction from their ancestors. What form of addiction is this? This addiction can appear in different forms that include alcohol addiction, drug addiction, food addiction, nicotine and the like. It is for this reason why many bulimics do suffer from addictions to other substances also, making recovery difficult. The reason being this, a genetic predisposition to bulimia may be there but it is not a single bulimia gene itself that happens to be chiefly responsible but a general addiction gene. Now if we go through detailed analysis of many bulimic families we can trace backwards to past members of the family who did suffer from other kinds of addiction in their lives. However, on the contrary there are also people who though get an addiction gene does not suffer from bulimia or other addictions. So there is a need to look at other things like environmental factors. Well, there is no doubt in it that the environmental factors can and do contribute a lot for the commencement of the bulimia. These include peer pressures, family attitudes, the influence of the media creating a need for thinness, poor self-esteem and a lack of acceptance of self and body shape. Now, there are several instances where it has been found that bulimia often begins with a dissatisfaction of the very person's body. Well, the very individual may be underweight in actual terms, but if the same person ever manages to stare at the mirror he/she will come across a distorted image and feel heavier than he/she is. At first, the distorted body image leads to dieting. Now with the body image in the mirror continues to be seen as larger than its actual size, there takes place the escalation of the diet, leading to bulimia. Now, what is the bottom line? The bottom line happens to be that bulimia is the misuse of food to try to resolve emotional problems. Therefore, we have to keep in concern when a person becomes unable to face their feelings, define problems, and resolves them effectively; the very person is more prone to become susceptible to the inception of bulimia.

Now to get rid of the effects of bulimia, there is an imperative need on our part to get rid of the causes. So, the only bulimia factor that we can change easily is the environmental factor. What does this include? This includes the alteration of our attitude to body image, along with the perception of the real beauty and also our eating habits. Therefore, to get rid of the burgeoning effects of bulimia there is a growing need to build a healthy environment. The other causes can also be controlled if we are aware of their existence.