Eating disorders are most common among teenagers and young adults. But the medical community is seeing more older adult women who are struggling with disordered eating and poor body image.

Moifa Thomas of Sun-Times Media reported on the phenomenon in a March 2 article:

Lynn Grefe, chief executive officer of the National Eating Disorders Association, said the group hasn't done formal research on the trend, but, "anecdotally, we are hearing more and more cases of women over 30" seeking treatment.

Nationally, one-fourth of hospital stays involving eating disorders in 2005-06 were for people 30 to 45 years old, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. Fifteen percent of hospitalizations involved 45- to 64-year-olds.

Labels: women, trends, adults

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A Dec. 3 post by Jennifer Austin of EmpowHER.com discusses the under-reported but very real existence of eating disorders among older women:

In a recent study in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, researchers confirmed that the very same eating disorders that affect young teens and waify supermodels also exist well into adulthood.

The difference between the generation gap is that older women appear to present with significantly higher rates of depression and other psychiatric disorders. &

Anorexia surrounding menopause can be particularly troublesome. Estrogen, already lowered by the menopause itself, takes an even greater dive when fat cells (suppliers of estrogen) disappear. This double whammy puts women at greater risk for osteoporosis and bone fractures among other issues.

Labels: anorexia, women, adults, eating disorders, osteoporosis

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A study conducted by the University of North Carolina found that 60 percent of women surveyed exhibited some type of disordered eating. A Sept. 19 article by Jean Enerson of Idaho's King 5 News provided the following details:

Secret eating can be just a guilty pleasure or a serious eating disorder. It all depends.

"Eating a large amount of food in a certain discreet period of time, feeling a sense of loss of control, as if you can't control your eating or stop and then a host of criteria - that several have to be met - such as eating in secret, eating until uncomfortably full, and feeling negative about it during or after the eating episode," said Dr. Jay Ashmore, clinical psychologist.

There is a difference between unhealthy eating habits and an eating disorder, but both can cause significant and lasting damage. If you or someone you love is suffering from either of these problems, contact an eating disorder treatment expert to evaluate the problem and determine the best course of action.

Labels: research, women, unhealthy eating

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Anorexia and alcoholism aren't often considered to be related, but a new study suggests that there could be a connection between the disorders:

A study of two populations of adult women, those presenting for alcoholism treatment and those referred to a specialized eating disorder program, showed that 30 percent of the women in alcoholism treatment met the diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder, and 26.9 percent of the women in the eating disorder program met the criteria for alcohol dependence. -- Source: The (Calif.) Desert Sun

The reason for this connection between anorexia and alcoholism has yet to be determined, but it serves as an important reminder to health care and treatment professionals to be on the lookout for co-occurring conditions.

The necessity of providing comprehensive care for women who are suffering from multiple conditions has inspired recovery centers such as The Victorian of Newport Beach, California, to establish dual-diagnosis treatment programs for women.

Labels: anorexia, women, dual diagnosis, alcoholism

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Group therapy can be helpful in the treatment of eating disorders if the group is cohesive and if members consistently attend meetings, according to a new study from Great Britain.

• Natalie Crino and Ivana Djokvucic studied 36 women going through an eating disorders day treatment program at Westmead Hospital in South Wales.
• They defined "group cohesion" as forces acting on the members of the group to remain in the group," such as compatibility and commitment to the group.
• The researchers found that the women's conditions improved by attending therapy, and that compatibility was the greatest factor associated with attendance and treatment response.

The study appears in the journal Clinical Psychologist.

Labels: treatment, women, therapy

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Almost half the women who have eating disorders also have personality disorders, according to a study from Universitat Jaume I in Spain.

• Dr. Azucena Garcia Palacios recruited 150 women over 24 years old, and divided them into three groups. One group had the purging types of bulimia and anorexia.
• The second group showed restrictive eating behaviors, and the third group had normal eating habits.
• Dr. Palacios found that 48.5% of those with anorexia or bulimia also had personality disorders.
• The most common were avoidant personality disorder, in which a person feels extremely shy, inadequate, and sensitive to rejection.
• Another was self-destructive personality disorder, which involves self-defeating behaviors.

The researchers noted that eating disorders are very difficult to treat because sufferers allow their bizarre patterns of eating to go untreated for years, often not until they have developed severe health problems from an overly restrictive diet. Dr. Palacios recommended that medical professionals should recognize and treat personality disorders along with eating disorders.
 

Labels: women, mental_health, mental_illness

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