By coming clean about his struggle with what has been described as a "girl's disease", Mr Prescott has been applauded for drawing attention to the fact that one in 10 of those with eating disorders are male.
He is not the first well-known man to own up to bulimia. Pop star Elton John, footballer Paul Gascoigne, Uri Geller, racing driver David Coulthard, and comedians Russell Brand and Rory Bremner have all had the disorder. And, of course, the most well-known female sufferer was Diana, Princess of Wales.
Eating disorders affect more than a million Britons. Some psychologists have blamed the rise in the number of male bulimics on the "Adonis complex", where men compare themselves unfavourably to photographs of athletes, actors and models.
While John Prescott blamed the stress of work, others claim depression, failed relationships, trauma and genetic predisposition have contributed to their problems. Mr Prescott was also subject to name-calling and some of that was based on his appearance and weight. That cannot have been helpful to someone vulnerable to an eating disorder, no matter how bullish a personality they appear to have.
Bulimia still has a great stigma attached to it and it was only in 1979 that it was recognised as an eating disorder in its own right. Unlike anorexia, where sufferers starve themselves, bulimia is characterised by binge-eating followed by "purging" the system through vomiting, the use of laxatives or excessive exercise. A bulimic's weight may fluctuate considerably. Sufferers rely on controlling food and eating as a way of coping with emotional difficulties. The condition is associated with low self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence.
The effects of this chaotic pattern may be a sore throat, tooth decay and bad breath from excessive vomiting; swollen salivary glands, making the face rounder; poor skin condition; hair loss; lethargy, and loss of libido. There is an increased risk of heart problems and of impacts on other internal organs.
Dr Peter Rowan, a consultant who specialises in eating disorders at Cygnet Healthcare, Britain's leading independent provider of psychiatric care, says: "I am really not at all sure how many male bulimics there may be. A few years ago it was regarded as so rare that it hardly occurred. But it may well be that it is more common and often kept very secret. It is likely to be much less common than among women, because men are so much less concerned about being below a normal natural weight.
"I have treated a few men for bulimia over quite a few years. Many of them had similarities with anorexics and were concerned with staying thin. John Prescott has stated that he thought it was partly due to the stress in his life at the time, but this has not been a recurrent finding of mine among the men, though among women the severity of the illness is often connected to how unhappy or stressed life is. Diana, Princess of Wales was a classic example."
John Edmondson, a consultant behavioural psychotherapist at Elland Hospital said more and more men were getting eating disorders and it could have a lot to do with the Adonis complex because there was increased pressure on men to look good today.
"You only have to look at the number of men's magazines on the market and the increase in men having plastic surgery to realise that they are getting more and more body conscious from their late teens."

So what signs should family members be watching for?
John suggests the following:
Eating alone.
Eating at strange times, for instance getting out of bed in the night.
Leaving the table immediately after a meal.
Excessive exercising.
Using a lot of laxatives or diuretics.
Weighing themselves frequently.
Running water when they are in the bathroom to disguise the sound of vomiting.