Wannabe 'yummy mummies' battling eating disorders

Melbourne, March 8 (ANI): More and more women wanting to resemble "yummy mummies" like Angelina Jolie and Victoria Beckham are turning to professional help to fight deadly eating disorders.

Experts have noticed a "sharp increase" in women in their 30s and 40s developing disorders traditionally linked with adolescents, such as anorexia and bulimia.

The run for the "yummy mummies" title was not ruled out in linking the onset or re-occurrence of an eating disorder, according to the Butterfly Foundation's Julie Parker.

"There has been a very sharp increase in the number of women who are contacting us in their 30s and 40s requiring assistance. Any time a person's body experiences significant physical change, such as a pregnancy or menopause, it increases the potential of them experiencing body image, self-esteem and weight-related concerns", the Courier Mail quoted Parker as saying.

She added: "When magazines choose not to present women in a way that is real, particularly when it comes to how their body looks during and post pregnancy, it sends false and dangerous messages."

Mum-to-be Laura, 34, who recovered after being diagnosed with bulimia when she was 25, blamed misleading images in magazines for potentially jeopardising women's health.

Laura said: "We need to keep our fat for milk production and nurture, but this can be forgotten when you are bombarded with images that make you feel you need to snap back just like these normal' women in magazines." (ANI)