Aging and Eating Disorders

Our society’s obsession with looking and staying young has exploded, but unfortunately there is no elixir of everlasting youth to stop our clocks from ticking. The result of this youth-crazed culture is poor self-esteem and body-esteem for aging women.

Cindy Bulik, Director of the eating disorder program at University of Carolina, was recently featured on CBS to discuss this increasingly important topic, where she presented some astonishing information. Self-esteem has become such a diminished characteristic in aging women that 62% of women over the age of 60 said their weight or shape negatively impacts their life. Are you surprised by this statistic? Unfortunately, I’ve seen first hand how the aging craze can impact the lives of men and women, which is why I believe it is crucial to present you with this information that will provide you with a few steps to deal with negative self-esteem as they age. Click here to watch the clip in full.

The pressure to look young can be crippling, so Dr. Bulik gives some tips on how to combat appearance anxieties. My favorite: rather than picking out your perceived flaws in the mirror every day, shift your focus away from your appearance and say at least one positive thing about yourself that doesn’t involve the way you look. I think you will find that there are several other much more important and admirable qualities within you that will make your body flaws seem insignificant.

Aging is healthy, natural and unavoidable. Rather than fight it, I challenge you to embrace your age, take time to inventory the wisdom you have accumulated throughout the years and look at aging as an opportunity to grow and share your beauty and your past. To learn more, watch the full CBS news segment.

Let me know what you have noticed about women over 50 experiencing body image issues and having some eating disorder behaviors.

Becky Henry