Midlife Eating Disorders

A groundbreaking book about what triggers midlife eating disorders and how to overcome them, written by the director of the University of North Carolina Eating Disorders Program

In most people’s minds, the phrase “eating disorder” conjures images of a thin, white, upper-middle-class teenage girl. It’s time to erase this damaging stereotype. Countless men and women in midlife and beyond, from all racial and ethnic backgrounds, struggle with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, purging disorder, and binge eating disorder. The ED landscape has changed.

Midlife Eating Disorders explores how several big industries have orchestrated a culture of discontent, contributing to an increase in the number of people with eating disorders in middle age. Some suffered since youth; others relapsed in midlife, often after a transition or stressor such as infidelity, divorce, death of a loved one, menopause, or unemployment. Still others experience eating disorder symptoms for the first time in midlife.

Primary care physicians, ob-gyns, and other practitioners may overlook these disorders in adults or, even worse, demean them for not having “grown out” of these adolescent problems. Treatments for adults must address the unique challenges faced by those middle-aged or older. Midlife Eating Disorders—a landmark book—guides adults in understanding “Why me?” and “Why now?” It gives them renewed hope by explaining how to overcome symptoms and access resources and support. Renowned eating disorder specialist Cynthia M. Bulik, Ph.D., also helps partners and family members develop compassion for those who suffer from eating disorders—and helps health professionals appreciate the nuances associated with detecting and treating midlife eating disorders.

Cynthia M. Bulik, Ph.D., is the Distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and director of the UNC Eating Disorders Program. She has been featured or quoted the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and has appeared on Dr. Oz and Katie. She is the author of The Woman in the Mirror: How to Stop Confusing What You Look Like with Who You Are and Crave: Why You Binge Eat and How to Stop. Bulik lives in Chapel Hill. Visit her website at www.CynthiaBulik.com.