Which of the following behaviors are considered inappropriate ways to rid calories in bulimia nervosa?

• A. Drinking excessive water to flush calories.
• B. Regular exercise alone after meals.
• C. Induced vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, and enemas used to purge calories.
• D. Fasting without compensatory behaviors.

Answer: (C)

In bulimia nervosa, people may try to rid calories after binge eating, and the most dangerous and defining methods are purging behaviors. Inducing vomiting, using laxatives, diuretics, and enemas to purge calories directly aim to remove ingested calories from the body, but they cause serious medical problems—electrolyte imbalances, dehydration, gastrointestinal damage, dental erosion, and potential heart complications. Because these actions are explicit attempts to purge calories and are characteristic of the disorder, they represent the inappropriate methods described.

Other behaviors like drinking excessive water to flush calories, exercising regularly after meals, or fasting without compensatory behaviors can be unhealthy and maladaptive as well, but they don’t constitute the purging pattern that specifically defines bulimia.