Of Renfrew's patients over age 30 in 2005, about 60 percent first suffered from an eating disorder at 18 or younger. Nearly 20 percent said they were 30 or older when they first encountered the problem.

While body image is an issue for any age group, women over 30 are dealing with problems that teens don't have, such as work, divorce, stepchildren and aging parents.

"It's not about wanting to be the cheerleader or being the homecoming queen," said Tappen. "It's much bigger than that."

They also are dealing with an aging process, or childbirth, that changes the way they look.

"One day, (a woman) wakes up and the kids are gone and she has a sense that nobody really needs her. She looks in the mirror and she says, 'My body is shot,"' said Tappen. "This woman says, 'You know, that's it. I'm going on a diet."'

Tappen said the aging of the huge baby boomer population may be one reason the Eating Disorders Institute has seen more older patients. Not only are there now more people in this group, but this population has traditionally been image-conscious, she said.

"Baby boomers have always cared about how they looked, what they wear," she said. "I think a lot of eating disorders years ago went undiagnosed because it was the thing to do."

The Eating Disorders Institute is building a new facility, set to open in 2009, that will offer a treatment track for mature patients.

Grishkat, of The Renfrew Center, encourages older women to seek age-specific treatment programs. Some may be embarrassed to get help alongside very young women. Also, some older women may take on maternal roles for younger girls when they should be focusing on themselves, she said.

"It's not a lost cause at 30, 40, 50 years old," she said. "You can still get better. In some sense, the older women do better in recovery than younger women. They tend to be more motivated."

For Smith, motherhood was a motivator. When she entered treatment, she was told she might have internal damage that could affect her ability to have children. Now 39 and out of treatment, she and her husband are parents to a 2-year-old boy and live in New Jersey. She says she's in recovery, and her primary goal these days is to be healthy.

"There's no question I put on weight because I wanted to have a baby," she said. "And I stay healthy right now for my baby."

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On the Net:

National Institute of Mental Health: www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/eatingdisorders.cfm

Renfrew Center: www.renfrewcenter.com/

Park Nicollet Eating Disorders Institute: www.parknicollet.com/methodist/edi/