Eating disorders are usually thought of as problems afflicting teenagers and people in their twenties. However, there are significant numbers of middle aged people, especially women, who never recovered from adolescent eating problems or who develop these disorders for the first time in middle age.
Defying our belief that age brings wisdom, a study at the University Medical Clinic at Innsbruck, Austria, shows that women between 60 and 70 years of age have eating behaviors and body image attitudes similar to those of much younger women. (Eating Disorders Review, Nov/Dec 2004)
In addition, there are people in mid to late old age whose behavior suggests anorexia nervosa or bulimia, disorders that are still relatively rare in a senior population. Read on for discussions of problem eating in people well past adolescence.
Eating disorders and middle-aged people
Some women develop eating disorders in their middle years following a devastating loss or trauma such as death of a loved one, a divorce or a life-threatening disease. These women are similar to younger peers who experience trigger events that lead to disordered eating. (See the Triggers section of our Causes page.)
Other middle-aged women may have struggled with food, weight and self-esteem issues for many years but were able to escape detection. Now, as the inevitable aging process weakens their stamina, they begin a slide into physical and emotional crisis.
Some women may have had an eating disorder when they were young, thought they were recovered, but relapsed following a trauma or combination of mid-life stresses.
Men, who by middle age may have made peace with body shape and size, are less likely than women to develop eating disorders at this time. Through jobs and careers men typically find ways other than physical appearance to give themselves self-confidence and self-esteem. That being said, some scholars who study societal trends think we may see more eating disorders in older males as the Baby Boom generation ages amid increasing emphasis in the media on fitness and physical attractiveness. As of now (December 2006), such a trend has not appeared
Risk factors
- Body dissatisfaction and despair: As women (men too) age, they move further and further away from the cultural ideal of young, thin, firm, and unblemished. Women and many men in developed countries measure their self-worth in terms of appearance. Other people measure them that way as well.
- Improved access to rich food: As careers move into high gear, and in retirement when leisure time increases, people find themselves enjoying more rich restaurant meals and indulgent home cooking. The pounds pile on, leaving people feeling ugly and far from the cultural ideal.
- Higher stress levels: Need to care for parents as well as fledging children and perhaps grandchildren. Perhaps a divorce. Probably economic worries as retirement approaches. Maybe health concerns as well. Some people will eat, and gain weight, in attempts to ease stress and soothe themselves.
- Loneliness. Marriage problems. Lack of romance and intimacy. Concern that one is no longer desirable. Some people will try to take comfort in food.
- Less regular exercise. Less strenuous exercise. Weight gain is inevitable, especially as the aging metabolism slows down.
- An empty nest. If people define their worth in terms of their roles as parents, mothers in particular, they may wonder if they have any value at all when their children leave home for school, work, or relationships of their own. They may eat out of boredom or to comfort themselves.
Related problems
- Use of, or addiction to, cocaine and other stimulants in the service of weight management. Misuse of alcohol and prescription drugs to numb emotional pain.
- Excessive, compulsive exercise
- Unnecessary plastic surgery
- Loss of sexual desire, probably related to negative body image rather than the hormonal changes that accompany menopause. According to researchers at Penn State University, the more a woman sees herself as unattractive, the more likely she experience a decline in sexual desire and activity.
- Depression, anxiety, cynicism and disillusionment as one acknowledges that youth and physical beauty are important measures of desirability in affluent cultures and wannabe affluent cultures. Despair and perhaps anger as one acknowledges that, as time passes, the chances of recapturing youthful beauty and thinness are increasingly unrealistic and unachievable goals.
Treatment and recovery
Although it must be tailored to the needs of older people, treatment should include consideration of the issues discussed elsewhere on this Web site.
Treatment should include discussion of the normal, natural physiological changes experienced by the aging body. Waists thicken. Hips enlarge. So do thighs. Buttocks and bellies sag, as do breasts. Skin wrinkles. Hair grays and may thin. Some cultures see these changes as proof of wisdom and experience. Older people are treasured as civic and family resources. Good treatment should provide women everywhere with opportunities to create similar identities for themselves.
As with younger people, some older patients and clients will recover, some will improve, and some will remain chronically eating disordered. Because older bodies cannot tolerate the same degree of abuse as younger bodies can, or as prolonged deprivation, treatment should begin as soon as possible to prevent permanent damage or even death.
Eating disorders and seniors
An elderly relative of mine has suddenly lost his appetite. He is losing quite a bit of weight, and I am concerned. Do older people get anorexia nervosa?
Yes, but it is rare in that age group. There are other, more common, reasons why seniors stop eating. They include
- An undiscovered illness or infection can cause loss of appetite.
- Some medications cause loss of appetite.
- Others cause stomach upset or pain that discourages eating.
- Missing or decaying teeth make it difficult to eat.
- Poorly fitting dentures may cause pain, so the person avoids eating.
- Alcohol is an appetite depressant.
- Memory lapses may be a factor. Person does not remember if s/he ate.
- Lack of enthusiasm for grocery shopping and food preparation can discourage eating.
- Poverty is a problem for many seniors. They may not have enough money to buy food.
- Depression is a major appetite depressant. So are loneliness and lack of meaningful connections with other people. Some older folks have given up on life and resigned themselves to approaching death. All of these psychological states are treatable.
Arrange to have your relative evaluated by a physician. If you suspect depression, include a psychiatrist or other mental health counselor in the process. Go with your relative to the appointments and tell the doctor and counselor what you have observed. Best wishes to both of you.
Please Note: ANRED information is not a substitute for medical or psychological evaluation and treatment. For help with the physical and emotional problems associated with eating disorders, talk to your physician and a mental health professional.
Page updated April 21, 2008
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Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc.
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