Social patterning of overeating, binge eating, compensatory behaviours and symptoms of bulimia nervosa in young adult women: results from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Overeating, binge eating and symptoms of bulimia nervosa are common among young Australian women and cluster with binge drinking. Perceived financial stress appears to increase the risk of binge eating and bulimia nervosa. It is unclear whether women of European origin and those with a history of childhood overweight carry higher risk of binge eating because of genetic or cultural reasons.