By Jennifer Stagg
Younger girls and older women are quickly becoming the new face of eating disorders, diseases originally labeled as illnesses that only affected teenage girls.
'Many factors influence the development of eating disorders in younger girls and older women, including an unrealistic cultural ideal for artificial thinness and an obsession with youthfulness,' said Psychotherapist Julie Hanks, owner of Wasatch Family Therapy, LLC.
Hanks said the pressure from society is leading to image problems for young girls.
' These cultural factors coupled with an earlier onset of puberty for young girls may leave young girls rejecting their developing bodies,' Hanks said. 'Since thinness and youthfulness are cultural ideals, older women may see themselves as more attractive if they are thinner.'
Tiffany Berg, an emotional release facilitator and recovering anorexic, is a motivational speaker who helps eating disorder victims overcome their emotional problems and move onto a healthier lifestyle. Eating disorders are often associated with the image of a teenage girl, but Berg said she is beginning to see a difference in demographics.
'We are actually seeing an increase in nine and 10-year-old girls where ten years ago you would see it in older teenage girls,' Berg said.
According to the Center for Change Web site, 50 percent of American women are on a diet at any one time, and 50 percent of 9-year-olds and 80 percent of 10-year-olds have dieted before. The site also states that based on statistics from the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, young girls are more afraid of becoming fat than they are of nuclear war, cancer or losing their parents.
According to a recent study by the National Institute of Mental Health, mothers who are overly concerned about their daughters'' weight and physical attractiveness may put their daughters at an increased risk of developing an eating disorder. In addition, girls with eating disorders often have a father or brother who is overly critical of their weight.
However, family problems are just one cause of eating disorders.
'People tend to be vulnerable to development of eating disorders during times of life transitions and stress - family death, going away to college, divorce, death, job loss, financial stress, etc,' Hanks said. 'Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression, and are more likely to suffer sexual trauma so eating problems can serve as a way to manage difficult emotions and feel a sense of control when life feels out of control.'
There are several warning signs for eating disorders such as binge or secretive eating, depression, inordinate amounts of exercise, dry skin, distorted body image and an intense preoccupation with food.
Early detection and treatment are crucial to helping someone with an eating disorder overcome the disease and move on to a healthy lifestyle and self-image.