McLean

When I tell people I research eating disorders I generally get one of three reactions:

1. They ask me how I got into this research
2. They tell me a story about themselves or a friend/family member suffering from an eating disorder
3. They share some knowledge they’ve gleaned at some point about what it looks like to have an eating disorder (often, “aren’t eating disorders most common in teenagers?”)

Those are without question the most common responses I get, ignoring the really horrible outliers. The last item reminds me that there are still extremely pervasive myths about what “having an eating disorder” looks like. Perhaps in an earnest effort to counter such myths, I am always scouring the literature for studies revealing the particularities of eating disorders amongst diverse individuals.

One such group, and one that has been getting more “press” of late is women in midlife. To scan the more recent … Continue reading →