Aren't You Too Old to Be Anorexic?

by Maria F. Aldana — May 23, 2008

Anorexia statistics have always high or teenagers and women in their twenties. Studies are now showing that women in their late 40s and early 50s are being diagnosed with this disorder. According to author Trisha Gura, treatment centers are reporting that half of patients are over the age of 40. The media is filled with images of celebrities who appear to be even thinner than when they were in their twenties. Celebrities in this age range such as Madonna, Demi Moore, Teri Hatcher, Cindy Crawford, and Michelle Pfeiffer all appear to have kept a youthful appearance and body, which can cause women to feel the need to be more aware of their appearance and to keep a thin body. Dr Peter Rowan, an eating disorder consultant at Cygnet Healthcare, states, "In the main, women are likely to grow out of an eating disorder if it is fairly mild but the increasing focus of women on their appearance as they get older may influence this trend adversely." Eating healthy and working out are positive influences on our body, but there is always a boundary that we may not know we are crossing.