Causes (2)
- Bulimia nervosa
- Anorexia nervosa
Coping and support (2)
- Mental health: Overcoming the stigma of mental illness
- Intervention FAQ: Help loved ones overcome addiction and abuse
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- Eating disorders: Know your treatment options
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- Amenorrhea
- Symptom Checker
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Eating disorders: Know your treatment options
Eating disorders affect people of all ages. A Mayo Clinic specialist discusses eating disorders in women (and men) in their 30s, 40s and beyond, including causes and treatments.
By Mayo Clinic staff
Eating disorders are often thought of as a problem of troubled teens or young women in college. But that's far from the only truth. Adults — even older adults — also can have eating disorders, whether it's anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder or a nonspecific eating disorder.
Donald McAlpine, M.D., a psychiatrist and the director of the adult outpatient eating disorders services at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., treats people with eating disorders. Here, he discusses how eating disorders affect adult women.
The typical image of someone with an eating disorder is an adolescent girl or a young woman. But can adult women have eating disorders, too?
It's true that eating disorders usually affect younger women, peaking in the late teens or early 20s. However, eating disorders also affect woman in their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond.
These women typically fall into three categories:
- Women who have secretly struggled with an eating disorder their entire life without seeking treatment
- Women who were treated for eating disorders when they were younger and develop a recurrence when they get older
- Women who first develop an eating disorder as an adult
Are women more likely to have an eating disorder as an adult if they had one as a teen or young woman?
Most women who receive appropriate treatment get well enough that they no longer meet the criteria for being diagnosed with an eating disorder. However, many women will continue to have some degree of lingering signs or symptoms of an eating disorder that can flare up under stress. These may include bingeing and purging, such as vomiting, or renewed efforts to restrict eating with significant weight loss.
Are the characteristics of eating disorders different for women in their 30s and beyond?
There are several differences in eating disorders depending on age, including:
- Common triggers. Young women with bulimia nervosa are often driven by excessive concern with weight, shape and body image. Older women, on the other hand, may be driven to binge and purge to cope with unpleasant mood stages. Of course, women at any age can struggle with poor body image, even women in their 60s and 70s. Eating disorders in women in their 40s and beyond are often triggered by such life events as the death of a loved one, divorce, remarriage, traumatic illness or signs of aging.
- Denial. Denial is very common in younger women with anorexia nervosa but seems to be less common in older women. Older women may more readily acknowledge that an eating disorder is harming their life and seek help. Older women who are worn down by years of symptoms may also be more motivated to seek help. Motivation for change often leads to a more successful outcome in treating the illness.
- Identity and coping. Years of daily eating disorder symptoms can become deeply engrained. Women who have had symptoms for years may ironically find it difficult to live without this eating disorder identity or coping style, as uncomfortable or emotionally painful as it may be.
- Health effects. Eating disorders have dangerous health effects at any age. But older women — those in their 60s and beyond — are especially at risk. In fact, most people who die of the effects of anorexia are older than age 65 — not young girls. Older women with a long history of eating disorders may have developed much more serious health problems. In addition, they may have other health conditions that make them more vulnerable to problems from eating disorders.
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