‘Desperate Housewives’ syndrome hits Ireland

A growing number of Irish women are suffering from a condition dubbed Desperate Housewives syndrome as it sparks eating disorders in females under pressure to remain slim in their 40s.

Celebrities like J-Lo, Eva Longoria and Elle McPherson are defying nature by looking hotter than woman half their age as they hit middle age.

Madonna is the ultimate poster girl for keeping aging at bay with a wrinkle-free face and a taut, toned figure from hours in the gym and a strict macrobiotic diet.

But the director of the Eating Disorder Resource Centre of Ireland, Suzanne Horgan, has warned middle-aged Irish women are now developing eating disorders in a desperate bid to look like the stars of the hit American series.

She said: “Eating disorders with women in their 40s is a growing trend. The syndrome is called after Desperate Housewives because of women in their 40s feeling under pressure to look like something off the show.

“Marcia Cross even came out during the filming of the show and said she was always starving because she couldn’t eat because she had to be thin.

“There are also people like Madonna, who is very iconic, looking so young. People are caught up with them because there seems to be a pressure to stay slim and young-looking in your 40s.

“It’s about looking at a celebrity or model and seeing a way of life and thinking you have to look that way to get the man, the car and their life.”

Researchers have dubbed the condition The Desperate Housewives syndrome referring to the cultural influence of the hit TV series, in which improbably thin women in their 40s compete in the glamour stakes while also managing to be domestic goddesses in the home.

Women in their 30s, 40s and beyond face increasing pressure to look slender and youthful despite years of childbearing, hormonal changes at menopause and the demands of careers.

While it is common knowledge that metabolism slows with age, it no longer appears to be socially acceptable to give in to middle-aged spread.

“When you hit your 40s your metabolism starts to slow down. Your muscle density or muscle mass starts to decrease every year after 40 and you burn less fat”, said Ms Horgan.

“If you were maintain the same calories as you did before you hit 40 you can put on weight very easily.”

She said a growing number of middle-aged patients are seeking treatment for binge eating and other disorders at her Dublin clinic. “We are seeing that age group come in with problems of body image dissatisfaction that is being projected out there by various different celebrities.

“I think more women are becoming dissatisfied with how they look and rather than grow old with wisdom and grace they are struggling with their body image in their 40s.

“Then if they have a marriage separation, it can trigger a body image crisis which can lead to a diet which leads to eating disorder problems.

“Before it was mainly people from the age of 12 to 18 developing disorders like bulimia, but now it has gone to all ages.”