[Eating disorders--transient nuisance or perpetual problem?].

Approximately 7% of Finnish women develop an eating disorder before the age of 30. While at least 70% of anorectic women will recover from their illness, normalization of body weight and hormone function usually takes years. Some of the anorexia cases become chronic. Bulimia nervosa has been considered a milder disease than anorexia, but the disease picture of bulimia may fluctuate, often exhibiting highly prolonged symptoms. Psychotherapeutic treatment and medication produce good responses to bulimic symptoms, whereas evidence of the efficacy of anorectic therapies remains less certain.