CONCERNS ABOUT AGING AND A DRIVE FOR THINNESS - A FACTOR IN THE BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL OF EATING DISORDERS

Objective: Examine the association between concerns about aging and a drive for thinness, Method: Two groups were studied: (I) randomly sele cted nonclinical subjects (77 men, M +/- SD age: 44.4 +/- 18.3 years; 140 women, M +/- SD age: 41.9 +/- 15.3 years) from Ann Arbor, Michigan (replication of an earlier shopping mall-based survey); and (2) women (N = 54) who were concerned about their aging appearance (18 women wi th mild to moderate skin aging, M +/- SD age: 41 +/- 4 years; 36 women with moderate to severe skin aging, M +/- SD age: 62 +/- 6 years) and had volunteered for 24-week, prospective, controlled studies evaluati ng the efficacy of topical retinoic acid versus placebo for the treatm ent of aging skin. All subjects rated their aging-related concerns on previously developed scales, and completed the Drive for Thinness (DT) and Body Dissatisfaction (BD) subscales of the Eating Disorder Invent ory (EDI). Result: In the random community survey there was a direct c orrelation between both concerns about the effect of aging on the appe arance (men: r = .28, p < .05; women: r = .32, p < .01) and concerns a bout the cutaneous stigmata of aging (men: r = .38, p < .01; women: r = .28, p < .01) and DT(EDI). In the aging skin study both DT (EDI) and ED (EDI) were lower (p < .01) at 24 weeks posttherapy, in the retinoi c acid (n = 32) but not the placebo (n = 22) group. Discussion: Concer ns about an aging appearance can be associated with a drive for thinne ss and excessive dieting, factors that are important in the developmen t of eating disorders. (C) 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.