Men & Eating Disorders…A Growing Epidemic (August 2013)
I think our culture assumes that eating disorders are most common among women, especially young girls. This is not necessarily true. As an eating disorder specialist it is very common to have a conversation with another eating disorder professional in our industry and we can all agree that eating disorders amongst, men, boys and teens are certainly growing. I think the difference is that our society is hearing more about it. Of course the media is giving it more attention, whether it is a professional athlete, an actor or your everyday student. Eating disorders do not discriminate. They do not discriminate your age, sex, gender, or sex preference.
Over the last many years my practice has grown with men, boys and young men whom have eating disorders. When I use the title men this may include young boys with body image issues, teens who have full blown eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, compulsive exercise, binge eating disorder, engage in chewing and spitting or laxative/diuretic abuse. I also see men that engage in the behaviors listed above and that can partake in a combination of the behaviors listed above. Once again our culture often times identifies these behaviors to be only for young women but college age and middle age women can have eating disorders too and I work with them.
Did you know that in the U.S. it is estimated that 10 million males suffer from eating disorders? It is suspected that this this estimate is on the low end to the secret that is kept of the male not coming forward of having an eating disorder. It is thought that this percent is closer to 25%.
Shame is a significant part of not coming forward to having an eating disorder. As mentioned before our culture assumes that eating disorders are most commonly seen in women. Part of this shame is why we see men having their eating disorders come out in their activities. These activities can be body building, running, triathlon, wrestling, horse jockey, race car driver and the latest trend being mobile casino. It is also common that dual diagnosis (more than one addiction or disorder may occur at the same time) such as substance abuse or alcoholism which can take the place of food.
Also our culture tends to have the belief that men with eating disorders are gay. This is a myth. Sure this population may have eating disorders but it is not the case that everyone does. Individuals who are gay may be more prone to have an eating disorder. When a male is in pain they are in pain and males who are at higher risk of developing an eating disorder do not necessarily have a particular sexual orientation.
Men have many of the same concerns that women have pertaining to body image and my work as a nutrition therapist I work very hard at paying attention to what those concerns are. Although on the outside they may look different, the core elements of eating disorders are the same for both genders. It is important to identify the differences when I am sitting with males and to educate our society on these.
I always like to point out, don’t assume that when you see a male who looks very fit that he is very fit. Maybe he has exercise addiction? Maybe he limits fat and over consumes protein? Or when you see an overweight male that he lacks self-care. Maybe he is working on adding food into his diet after abusing laxatives, or maybe working on keeping food down after purging? Everyone has a different story but the key thing is being ready to be ready to want to develop a new and improved relationship with food.
References
1. Dramatic Rise in Men Diagnosed with Eating Disorders www.Huffingtonpost.co.uk
2. ‘Manorexia’ on the Rise: Men with Eating Disorders www.Huffingtonpost.com
3. Namedinc.org
