Think you’ll grow out of your body weight insecurities, at least by the time you’re 50? Sadly, feeling fat is an issue many women will struggle with, perhaps, for their entire life.
A recent study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders found that 62% of women over age 50 reported that their weight or shape negatively impacts their lives, and about 13% have eating disorders. Researchers at the University of North Carolina Eating Disorders Program analyzed 1,849 women, average age 59, from across the U.S. who participated in a survey “Body Image in Women 50 and Over – Tell Us What You Think and Feel.”
The participants were asked questions about eating, aging, body image, and their weight-loss attitudes and behaviors.
The results are shocking:
79 percent of women said their weight or shape affected how they perceived themselves.
70 percent said they were trying to lose weight.
Two-thirds of women thought about their weight or shape daily
41 percent checked their body daily
40 percent weighed themselves two or more times a week
The authors believe that these attitudes and behaviors put them at risk for eating disorders. In fact, 3.5 percent reported binge eating, 8 percent reported purging, and 36 percent reported spending at least half their time in the last five years dieting.
“I would say the findings were expected to me, but will come as a surprise to the rest of the world. We have been seeing this clinically, but have not had the data to say this is something that’s going on. The stereotype is that eating disorders are for adolescents and younger women, but that’s not the case,” says study author Dr. Cynthia Bulik, director of the University of North Carolina Eating Disorders Program.
According to Time, some of the women had an eating disorder when they were younger or most of their lives, however, many didn’t develop eating disorders until after 50. Bulik points to major life changes, like a divorce or financial uncertainty as a possible explanation, as well as societal pressures.
Expect further research on weight issues and disorders among older women to come, says Bulik.“Our paper says quite clearly that [these women] are not alone. This is a problem and others are struggling as well.”
Source: http://healthland.time.com
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