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In an age when 50 is the new 30 and 70 is the new 50, older women feel just as much pressure from society to stay thin. And what we don’t realize is disordered eating continues well into older adulthood.
Hi, I’m Bailey Mosier. This is your EmpowHER HER Daily Dose.
In an age when 50 is the new 30 and 70 is the new 50, older women feel just as much pressure from society to stay thin. And what we don’t realize is disordered eating continues well into older adulthood.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina Eating Disorders Program collected data on more than 1,800 U.S. women over 50 and found that 4 percent report binge eating, 8 percent report purging, more than 70 percent diet to lose weight and 62 percent say their weight or shape negatively impacts their lives. Their dissatisfaction was highest with their stomach (84 percent) and shape (73 percent).
Researchers say we simply cannot ignore disordered eating and weight dissatisfaction in women over 50. These are not just passing phases; these are serious and potentially life-threatening disorders that require treatment and more research needs to be done to tailor treatment toward women over 50.
That wraps up your EmpowHER HER Daily Dose. Join me here at EmpowHER.com every weekday for your next dose of women’s health.
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Thanks for sharing this. I have a bulimia recovery website and blog and was recently contacted by a woman wanting to share her story about how, as a 50+ yr old woman and mother of two women in their 20s', she was crippled with guilt about hiding her eating disorder from her family. I think there is something to these new findings and hopefully women of all ages can find the support and love they need from their family, professionals and their community to beat bulimia. I had bulimia for 20 years and I am now fully recovered, but I know what it was like to suffer in silence with this disorder.
With love and light,
Polly
June 28, 2012 - 11:47amhttp://www.Inspiring-Bulimia-Recovery.com
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