By Stephanie Schupska
University of
Georgia

As female baby boomers crawl toward menopause and retirement,
eating disorders among this age group have started to rise.

Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc., reports
that some speculate the eating disorder increase in this group,
born from 1946 until 1964, is because they’ve consistently
considered image to be of major importance.

Connie Crawley, a University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
expert, agrees.

“Women of all ages are very conscious of their bodies and
sometimes have a very negative opinion of their bodies,” she
said. “Now that the baby boomers are aging, their body changes
are really kind of hitting them harder than probably the
previous generation. So now there are women who are becoming
much more concerned about the normal changes in body fat
distribution that come with age.”

Crawley is a UGA Extension nutrition and health specialist and
a registered dietitian. She says many people focus on the
physical symptoms of an eating disorder, but “the self-esteem
issues, the coping skills, dealing with all the changes as one
gets older,” are the real issues.

“Some of these women are under tremendous stress because
they’re kind of that sandwich generation where they still have
children to deal with and yet they’re dealing with elderly
parents,” she said. “They may be having job pressures. They may
have marital issues as they get older. So all these things
become manifested in their eating habits, which are just
symptoms of their struggles. Eating and exercise may be the
only things they feel they can control.”

The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and
bulimia. About 4 percent of college-age women are bulimic and 1
percent anorexic. Unfortunately, ANRED reports, accurate
figures for baby boomers aren’t available. Because people with
eating disorders are typically secretive, it’s hard to know how
many older people are affected.

“There’s also an eating disorder called compulsive overeating,”
Crawley said. “And in that case, the woman may eat excessively
due to stress or some other reason, but she doesn’t necessarily
purge.”

An eating disorder occurs when a person isn’t able to eat
enough to maintain a normal body weight and is unable to enjoy
food.

“It’s usually a reflection of more psychological problems than
physical problems,” Crawley said. “If the psychological
problems are dealt with, usually the physical symptoms begin to
get better.”

She debunks the myth that eating disorders among older people
are relatively new. “It’s probably not been confined to the
younger population for quite a while,” she said.

“Being thin is seen as the ultimate good thing to be,” she
said. “Unfortunately, they’re taking it to an extreme. It’s
good to be physically active. It’s good to eat a good, healthy
diet. But it doesn’t mean restricting your calories excessively
or exercising three or four hours a day. It’s certainly not
that. It’s certainly not using laxatives or purging by
vomiting. That’s very, very dangerous.”

Crawley said many of the women now developing eating disorders
have had to deal with eating issues all their lives. “But
again,” she said, “it’s just a symptom of the internal issues
that are more related to their self-esteem.”

She gives the following tips for spotting eating disorders:

• Significant weight loss over a fairly short time, up to 30
  pounds in less than six months.
• Extended periods spent in the bathroom after eating so they
  can purge by vomiting or using laxatives.
• Social isolation because of concern about eating at parties
  or restaurants.
• Dry skin and brittle hair.
• Tooth decay and gum problems caused by stomach acid
  remaining
  in the mouth after vomiting.

“Those are just some of the things,” she said. “There are many,
many different signs. But the symptoms depend on the type of
eating disorder the woman has.”

(Stephanie Schupska is a news editor with the University of
Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)