Low potassium levels indicate that the disorder is more likely to be accompanied by the binge-purge syndrome.

Other researchers have noted that some patients with bulimia, the compulsive binge-purge syndrome, respond to treatment with Prozac (fluoxetine), an antidepressant drug that also affects serotonin.

The most comprehensive recent studies indicate that 3 to 5 percent of women between puberty and the age of 30 are seriously afflicted with the binge-purge syndrome called bulimia and that 1 percent suffer from anorexia nervosa.