Increasing numbers of middle-age patients with eating disorders are seeking treatment for problems normally thought to inflict primarily younger men and women and adolescents, report medical professionals.
The Renfrew Center, which treats women for mental health issues at facilities around the United States, reported a 42 percent uptick in middle-age eating disorder patients since 2001.
A University of Minnesota study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that more than 50 percent of 2,287 children it tracked continued to have eating disorders into their adult years.
These conditions can be especially dangerous in older sufferers, eating disorder specialist Dr. Ed Tyson of Austin, Texas, told USA Today.
"Older bodies do not have the plasticity that younger bodies do," said Tyson. "They can't tolerate the stresses and risks."
Middle-age sufferers often are uncomfortable seeking treatment because of the association with adolescence, Tyson explained. "They feel more peculiar because they're older. They think this is something for younger people, not for them. There's some shame associated with it."
The Renfrew Center now has separate programs designed for older patients, said Holly Grishkat, a director at Renfrew’s Northeast facilities.
"The older women tend to mother the younger women and take care of the younger women in the group rather than taking care of themselves," she said. "The other thing we've noticed, the older women have a tendency to sit back and not say anything because they're ashamed. They feel like they should be the role models for the younger women."