Tappen said the aging of the huge baby boomer population may be one reason the Eating Disorders Institute has seen more older patients. Not only are there now more people in this group, but this population has traditionally been image-conscious, she said.
"Baby boomers have always cared about how they looked, what they wear," she said. "I think a lot of eating disorders years ago went undiagnosed because it was the thing to do."
The Eating Disorders Institute is building a new facility, set to open in 2009, that will offer a treatment track for mature patients.
Grishkat, of The Renfrew Center, encourages older women to seek age-specific treatment programs. Some may be embarrassed to get help alongside very young women. Also, some older women may take on maternal roles for younger girls when they should be focusing on themselves, she said.
"It's not a lost cause at 30, 40, 50 years old," she said.
"You can still get better. In some sense, the older women do better in recovery than younger women. They tend to be more motivated."
For Smith, motherhood was a motivator. When she entered treatment, she was told she might have internal damage that could affect her ability to have children. Now 39 and out of treatment, she and her husband are parents to a 2-year-old boy and live in New Jersey. She says she is in recovery, and her primary goal these days is to be healthy.
"There's no question I put on weight because I wanted to have a baby," she said. "And I stay healthy right now for my baby."
On the Net:
National Institute of Mental Health: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/eatingdisorders.cfm
Renfrew Center: http://www.renfrewcenter.com/
Park Nicollet Eating Disorders Institute: http://www.parknicollet.com/methodist/edi/
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