‘Menorexia’ Is The Midlife Crisis We Don’t Talk About Enough

Key Points:

• An estimated 28.8 million people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with an eating disorder in their lifetime, with women at the highest risk; midlife women can develop or relapse into eating disorders, a phenomenon sometimes called “menorexia.”
• Midlife eating disorders often go undetected due to atypical presentations and normalization of diet culture behaviors like restrictive dieting and excessive exercise, which can mask disordered eating.
• Hormonal changes during menopause and andropause significantly contribute to body dissatisfaction and eating disorder onset in midlife adults, compounded by societal ageism and medical advice focused excessively on weight loss.
• Experts emphasize that eating disorders are emotional disorders requiring specialized, often virtual, treatment and support, encouraging those affected to seek care and avoid isolation.
• Advice for midlife individuals includes accepting natural body changes, avoiding harmful diet culture messaging, and connecting with support networks to aid recovery and combat stigma.