A study published newly in the International Journal of Eating Disorders has uncovered that weight problem does not only have an adverse impact on youngsters, but elderly women are also its target in some or the other way.

It is being said by a team of researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine that quality of life of anyone can be affected with body image and shape, regardless of their age.

A survey dubbed "Body Image in Women 50 and Over - Tell Us What You Think and Feel" had been conducted by the team, which included 1,850 women participants of the Gender and Body Image Study (GABI).

According to Cynthia Bulik, PhD, director of the Eating Disorders Program, it was found that 70% of older women with a dieting behaviour were seeking to lose weight, while some others were prone to binge eating.

While previously it was believed that eating disorders only occur in young women and teenagers. And illnesses such as bulimia also only affect girls in their 20s to look older. The team now claims that with an obsession to look beautiful and younger, older women often tend to develop a disorder related to eating.