Eating Disorders Increase in Middle-Aged Women

According to an online survey funded by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), there is no real age limit for eating disorders. 

The survey reported that symptoms of an eating disorder were reported by 13 percent of middle-aged women and 70 percent admitted they were attempting to lose weight (Lavitt, 2014). Additionally, another study conducted by Kansas State University reported that 20 percent of middle-aged women were dissatisfied with their body image. 

Treatment centers have been reporting eating disorder treatment for increasing numbers of women over the age of forty with the same symptoms as younger people, such as “starving themselves, abusing laxatives, and exercising to dangerous extremes” (Lavitt, 2014). Eating disorders in this population are an increasing concern among clinicians because of the lack of resiliency of the aging body as “older women are less likely to bounce back from an eating disorder” (Lavitt, 2014).