Menopause and Eating Disorders: What’s the Link?

When you think of an eating disorder, chances are, you imagine a teenage girl.

Teens are, after all, vulnerable to social pressure, impressionable, living in bodies that are changing rapidly, and very much establishing their relationships with food. But eating disorders don’t discriminate or arrive at one specific point in a woman's life — and recent research points to eating disorders and body dissatisfaction being on the rise later in life.

Perimenopause and menopause are specifically vulnerable times for women where eating disorders are concerned. According to research, hormonal shifts may play a role here. As is the case during puberty, estrogen shifts are happening, which can increase a woman’s offs of developing a psychiatric condition. Researchers suggest this may influence eating disorder risk as well. It’s also worth noting that many women feel their body size change as they navigate menopause and perimenopause.

And, it’s worth mentioning: Advice on managing menopause often involves diet, as a TIME article points out. So much of the advice around improving the symptoms and overall experience comes down to weight loss or maintenance — which is especially frustrating when so many women report having a much harder time maintaining their weight as they hit this life stage.

The TL;DR? We need to rethink the narrative that only teens and young women are vulnerable to eating disorders. They can affect any person at any time — but menopause may be a particularly vulnerable time.

Ask Clara: What's the relationship between menopause and diet?