When people think of an eating disorder – they usually think of an extremely underweight woman in her late teens or early twenties.
However, new research out of Australia shows a dramatic increase in disordered eating among those in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.
What’s driving this?
The Average American Housewife?
A recent study published in PLoS ONE highlights how difficult it is to get accurate statistics on eating disorders. Only so many people with disordered eating match the exact definitions of Anorexia or Bulimia as set out in the DSM-IV.
However other behaviors – such as Binging, Purging, and Strict dieting or fasting are on the increase.
The main conclusion from the present study is that eating disorders appear to be increasing in point prevalence in Australia, but this increase may be in EDNOS rather than anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.
Note that the research comes from comparing two surveys (1995 and 2005) in South Australia (with approximately 3,000 participants in each).
How Old?
A look at the statistics (click for the image) shows a dramatic increase of “Strict dieting of fasting” behavior among the ages 45-64. In the age group of 45-54 there was a big jump (11% to 28%) in purging behavior – in stark contrast to those who are younger.
The Sydney Morning Herald claims that “Middle-aged women are developing eating disorders to emulate youthful looking celebrities such as Madonna and Teri Hatcher. [...]“.
The research doesn’t actually give any reasons for the increase – we can only speculate.
The Herald also quotes:
[...] the celebrity-driven phenomenon of the yummy mummy and the pressure to return to pre-baby weight were driving women to go on fad or restrictive diets, leaving them at high risk of an eating disorder.
What do you think?
Muscle loss or thyroid problems is what I read. Also, getting older and being inactive and eating too much. I also read that gaining weight in middle age is correlated with increased breast cancer risk as well as hypertension and diabetes. It’s not a good thing.
I looked great in clothes at size 8 and 135 lbs, so I don’t know what Rachel Zoe is talking about. Plus, not having a female figure does not look good in clothes. It’s sad when you can’t fill out a shirt or bathing suit. There’s got to be a happy medium.
I think I would kill someone to be 120 lbs. I am 5’3″ 175 lbs now. I want to be skinny again, but I love to eat and I don’t know how to purge.
The problem with this country is we are all disordered eaters. We eat too much garbage and we don’t move enough, bottom line. I once read that you actually should stay close to the same weight you had at 18 your whole life. People get fatter as they get older because they do less and eat more than they need to. That’s why anyone who manages to stay thin in this country either has an eating disorder, exercises like a crazy person or was born with skinny genes.
Women especially have it tough. We get pregnant in our 20, 30s sometimes 40s and the doctor says even normal weight women need to gain between 25 – 40 lbs or something outrageous like that in this already overfed culture. Funny in Japan the upper limit is 25 lbs. In the old days it was 18 lbs. and most people turned out fine. Then you chase after kids and never lose that weight then you age into it and put on more due to muscle loss, and a lot of time thyroid issues. But its just accepted that to be older is to be fatter.
I see nothing the matter with older women striving to keep a sexy body. They just need to do it in the right way. Increased weight in the middle years leads to breast cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Plus it looks ugly and is demoralizing.
I’m not sure why anyone would find this surprising. I came of age in the mid 1970′s. Even then there was pressure to be thin, which was not how I was built. The instant I developed hips, I also developed bulimia. I have gone through years of self hate before deciding that if someone doesn’t looking at my stocky self, they can look somewhere else. I have too many other things going on to worry about being obsessively vain about my looks.
What’s wrong with being skinny? Why is it somehow equated with hating one’s body. People are just plain too fat; they eat too much and exercise too little. It is more likely that you’ll be skinny and healthy than fat and healthy. There is evidence that calorie restriction prolongs life and promotes health. If you don’t like the way it looks, don’t be skinny, or thin, or whatever word for having very low body fat you choose. But it seems there has to be some magical ordinary averageness that is the only thing that will shelter women from being either “fat” or somehow unhealthily obsessed with their weight. It takes effort to be skinny, and to be fit. I think that effort is well spent.
Note that this really only does seem to apply to women. There are plenty of really really skinny guys, and ones who workout every day and eat very stringent diets and nobody calls them out for being too skinny.
Mik, you are already underweight. Starvation is not normal. I’m 54 years old, 5’5″, 122 lbs give or take a few, and I’m very happy with who I am and how I look. I recently beat breast cancer, and I’ve read my charts. Every physician lists me as “a very thin woman.” I wear a size 6 – which is fine by me. Size 4 would be too skinny and too hard to maintain. I’ve kept this weight most of my adult life with a couple of gains for pregnancy and 10 lbs. from a desk job for a couple of years. My trick – be picky. Don’t put anything in your mouth that doesn’t taste fabulous. Let hunger help you be more discerning — feed your body REAL foods, and eat foods that will actually satiate your hunger. That doesn’t include diet drinks, low-fat (yuck) dressings, fast foods, chips and other junk foods, etc. Learn to cook with olive oil, savor a bite of delicious cheese before dinner with a couple of olives, and slowly enjoy BITES of delicious desserts, but don’t inhale a whole slab of cake. Eat like a skinny person – nibble on things then get up and get busy doing something else. We eat too much in the U.S. I visited Europe and there weren’t very many fat women in France, Spain, or Italy. People walk everywhere, drink 6 oz coffees with cream instead of “big gulp” sizes, have a normal fist- sized portion of something delicious, and they don’t seem to live the “fat but still feeling deprived” life. If you eat very small meals, have a nutrient dense snack mid morning and mid day, you will adjust and feel satisfied. And feeling a hunger pang now and then is normal; living a hungry-starved life is not normal.
I’ve begun to suspect the eating disorder of my youth may be making a new appearance. I’m 41, 5’7′ and weigh 120. Eight months ago I dropped from 145 to my current weight of 120. I weigh myself several times a day (every time I go into the bathroom) and I feel real anguish if the scale is even a few decimal points over 120. I will intentionally put off eating as long as I can, and have trained myself to eat only once or twice a day.
Three or four times a week, if I feel I’ve eaten “too much”, I purge. I constantly feel my collar bones and hip bones to make sure they are still “sticking out.” But I don’t feel bad about any of this–in fact, I feel stronger and more in control than I have for years.
But I am driven to lose more weight–I desperately want to get down to 115. I think if I can get down to 115, then everything will be okay. I remember feeling this way when I was in college–I eventually got down to 105 before my parents sought help for me. I’m having all the same symptoms. But I don’t think I want help, even though I intellectually know I probably need it. Not sure what to do. I’m terrified of gaining weight, but I know this can’t be healthy….
I am 47 and obsessed with my weight. I see all around me that men including mine cant keep their eyes off the very thin women. they are affected by what the media offers up as well. We also have all these bars and restaurants flashing 20 somethings that are very thin with fake big boobs and fake hair etc. men now want this perfection. they see women in longerie that have no fat even on the thighs and waistline. they are so done up to look as perfect and beautiful and young as possible. It makes it hard to feel beautiful over 45. I am not fat but was always very thing when I was young , I always feel fat and am having a hard time with aging. I would feel hot enough if 20 somethings and skinny’s would not be showing it all every where men look and making me feel unattractive. It is so hard for most women to stay so thin. someday I hope I can age and be healthy and not obsess over my body so much. It is depressing. most guys think I am pretty hot, all I see is every flaw. sad , I know but true. men are obsessed with the young skinny big boob and perfect ass look. I have maintained pretty well but am tiring of never feeling good enough. We like to look hot, but we have to starve to not get fat. why does it have to be that way, I cant work out all day long. I work out 4-5 days a week and it doesnt stop the aging.
I started using http://www.GoWorkoutDaily.com and feel great now, is anyone else using it on this dicussion board? I live in Boise and if anyone is looking for a workout partner let me know.
Madonna just had a couple of concerts here in Boston and I was blown away by how good she looked on stage.
I definitely think the celebrity driven image ideal is associated with a rise of eating disorders in older women.
Another thought is that the older women of today are actually the first generation of obsessed dieters from the 1980′s.
In the 1980′s aerobics classes, lifting weights at the gym, and fad diets took off like rockets. Teenagers and 30 year old dieters of the 80′s are the 40-60 years olds of today.
Just like the baby boomers created a wave in every industry, they are likely creating a wave of eating disorders also.
Im a mother of 3 and a grandmother of 9.I’m @ 123lbs and I watch what I eat and the amount. But don’t count cals. or carbs.I don’t think I have a eating disorder.But everyone else around me seems to think I do.Just because I take good care of myself.I know that there are people in my own family that do have a eating diorder and I know what they go through everyday.And my heart goes out to all those men and woman that do have a eating disorder.
Because it is something that affects their whole family not just them.And it does destroy many lives everyday.
I thought it’s weight that ages you: wrinkles, bumps and lumps. Not to mention that if you got to your weight via eating junk food, that would age you too.