Anorexia A Growing Problem In Women Over 50, Doctors Say

DETROIT (WWJ) - There's been plenty of talk about eating disorders in teens, but experts say anorexia is a growing problem among older adults.

Beaumont Hospital eating disorder expert Dr. Alexander Sacafeyo, a psychiatrist, says he saw his first patient over age 50 a couple of years ago, and now he sees 60 to 100 a year — most of them women.

"It's disturbing...as you talk to them, sometimes, if you close your eyes they sound like 12-year-olds," Sacafeyo told WWJ's Sandra McNeill.

When older adults are intentionally starving themselves, Sacafeyo said, it often begins with a feeling of insecurity due to some kind of change in circumstances; for example: one's living situation.

"They've lost their spouse, they've moved from one area to the other, kids became very, very independent and moved away...They've moved, let's say, from a house to a condo," he said. "Rather than that being more settling, sometimes they see that as being isolating."

"Sometimes they start of by saying, 'I want to be healthy, so we need to cut out our fats and proteins and so on,'" Sacafeyo said. Then it quickly gets out of hand, he said, and they do eat enough.

Sacafeyo say older adults with eating disorders are more difficult to treat, because they tend to be resistant to change.

"Most of the people I see will look at me and say, 'I'm not going to change my eating habits to please you because I'll get a heart attack or stroke,'" he said.

Eating disorders kill about eight percent of those afflicted. [Get more information about eating disorders in adults at this link].