Study shows that older women are affected by eating disorders

A new study by experts has found that more older women than expected are suffering from eating disorders. Middle aged women are commonly affected by the disorder due to personal issues such as divorce, financial problems and bereavement in mid-life.

It was usually thought that eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia are more commonly associated with adolescence or early adulthood.

The new study carried out by Harvard researchers found one in every 28 women between the age of 40 to 50 are thought to have an active eating disorder.

In contrast, around one in 100 women between 15 and 30 have been diagnosed with an eating condition, such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating, although many more may be suffering in silence.

The study, examined more than 5,000 British women, and found that 15.3 per cent reported having an eating disorder at some point in their lives while 3.6 per cent said they had an eating disorder in the previous year.

Less than three in 10 had sought help for their problem.

Lead author of the research, Dr Nadia Micali, from University College London, said: 

"Our study shows that eating disorders are not just confined to earlier decades of life, and that both chronic and new onset disorders are apparent in mid-life.

"Many of the women who took part in this study told us this was the first time they had ever spoken about their eating difficulties, so we need to understand why many women did not seek help.

"It may be that there are some barriers women perceive in healthcare access or a lack of awareness among healthcare professionals."

The study drew data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Women who reported having ever had any symptoms of eating disorders, and an equal number of women who reported never having symptoms, were then interviewed.

The researchers discovered that experiencing the death of a carer early in life was associated with a seven fold increased risk of purging disorder.

Parental separation or divorce was also linked to increased odds of bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder and atypical anorexia nervosa.

Other risk factors for eating disorders also included having an unhappy childhood, "low maternal warmth" and sexual abuse in early life.

"The early risk factors we assessed were associated with different eating disorders, said Dr Micali.

"Anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and purging disorder were all associated with childhood unhappiness, and parental separation or divorce during childhood seemed to increase the risk of bulimia, binge eating disorder and atypical anorexia, he continued.

"We also found that the death of a carer could increase the likelihood of purging disorder and that sexual abuse during childhood, or a fear of social rejection, was associated with all eating disorders," he added.

The study was published in the journal BMC Medicine.

Press Association