NEWSEating Disorders Are Not Just a Teenage Problem and This Virginia-Based Treatment Center Is Addressing the Issue
Heather Baker, Founder of Prosperity Eating Disorder and Wellness Center
Oct. 9 2023, Published 9:19 a.m. ET
Eating disorders are mostly commonly associated with teenagers and college students. Although many teenagers throughout the United States do suffer from many different types of eating disorders, the struggles of adults with eating disorders often go overlooked and untreated.
Eating disorders in adults can be triggered by a multitude of different factors including genetics, past trauma, health complications such as Crohn's disease or gastrointestinal issues that have a negative effect on people’s diets. Many times when adults go to see a doctor they are misdiagnosed. Severe dieting can change the brain to where food is seen as dangerous, causing extreme fear of weight gain and irrational views of their body. This often leads to malnourishment, even for those with larger bodies.
Binge eating is one of the most common eating disorders among adults. Individuals who experience weight-based stigmatization are more likely to engage in frequent binge eating, and are at an increased risk for eating disorder symptoms. According to Heather Baker, Founder of Prosperity Eating Disorder and Wellness Center, adults with eating disorders often have an added burden to receive treatment because of the responsibilities and commitments they have.
Baker says that adults have to seek help voluntarily, which can be hard as many of them are parents, have careers, and have learned to adapt their lives around an eating disorder, so the idea of seeking inpatient and outpatient treatment can seem like an impossible task. Baker founded Prosperity Eating Disorder and Wellness Clinic, based in Virginia, in 2012 to provide both teenagers and adults alike with treatments for eating disorders as there were no real options for them at the time.
Some of the treatment modalities for adults coming to Prosperity Eating Disorder and Wellness Center are group therapy sessions, intense work with therapists and dietitians, and eating meals with support. Baker has found that adults often feel alone in their disorders and feel ashamed about reaching out for help, so the group therapy sessions act as a way for them to connect with other adults who share the same struggles.
Baker says the clinic seeks to address the misconceptions and stigmas around eating disorders for adults through group therapy sessions.
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“There's a misconception that if you're an adult seeking help with an eating disorder you're going to be with a bunch of teens, and so a lot of people just don't go because they don't want to be sitting amongst teenagers. So we have a separate program just for adults,” says Baker. “The things that we're discussing are more adult-related, such as managing your eating disorder through work, through being a parent or while being married, and taking care of others while managing their eating disorders.”
The clinic has both day and evening programs to accommodate both adult and adolescent schedules, including telehealth options for people who want to seek treatment options virtually. The clinic is based in both Norfolk and Herndon, Virginia and serves all types of eating disorders, all ages, genders, and accepts most insurances.
