Male Eating Disorders
Typically when people thing of eating disorders they associate them with young women. While the majority of those who suffer, from eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are women, surprisingly, a large number of men also succumb to these illnesses. According to a national study of eating disorders reported by Harvard researchers in early 2007, among 3000 adult individuals studied, nearly 25% of those who suffered from anorexia or bulimia were male. Not quite as surprising was that 40% of the binge eaters were reported as being men. This is in sharp contrast to past studies which suggested that a mere 10% of eating disordered individuals were male.
Men who suffer from eating disorders exhibit the same characteristics as the girls and women with the same illnesses. These include rigid exercise routines, excessive calorie restriction, binging and then purging of food. Their goals are similar as well. They want the perfect physiques that they see on entertainment and sports celebrities. One notable difference between the men and women who suffer from eating disorders is that while the women are generally focused on getting ‘skinny' or achieving an unrealistic ‘goal weight', the men are more focused on obtaining the enviable ‘six-pack abs' that they emulate on the elite 1% of the population that may actually achieve this goal.
Another difference between men who suffer from eating disorders and women suffering from the same illnesses is that while the woman, after admitting that she needs help, can generally find a plethora of willing and able professionals, for men it may be more difficult. More eating disorder clinics focus on treating women than men. There are, however, eating disorder clinics such as Avalon Hills in Utah that have programs for both men and women. Additionally, eating disorders are by their very nature a secretive illness, and men may be even more prone than women to hide their eating disorders. Some reasons for this may be that they don't want to admit to suffering from a ‘girls illness', as it is a threat to their masculinity. There is often a fear that people will perceive them as being homosexual. This may stem from the fact that stereotypically speaking homosexual men are more concerned with their appearance than heterosexual men. A man suffering from an eating disorder, a disease associated with an obsession with one's appearance, may fear he is coming across as overly concerned with his appearance and, therefore, not manly enough.
On top of this, while quite a few female celebrities have gone public about their struggles with eating disorders, very few men have taken this same step. This reinforces the idea that it is okay for women to suffer from this weakness and be subject to an eating disorder, but it is not okay for men to struggle with this same problem. Other problems arise with the societal tendency to accept mens eating habits as being poor. When a man gorges himself on a regular basis he's just ‘being a man'. People may make comments that someone can eat whatever he wants and never gain weight, never realizing that this person may be purging everything he possibly can after his binge sessions. While men seem to laugh off and ignore comments about excess weight, love handles, beer bellies etc., for some men this negativity in regards to body size and appearance can trigger an eating disorder. For some reason people feel that it is okay to tease a man about the extra five pounds he has to lose, when they would not dream of making the same derogatory remark to a woman.
Another risk factor for men that can lead to eating disorders is being involved in a sport, career, or other activity where weight is an issue. Some teenage boys develop binging, purging, and anorexic tendencies after being rejected for a sports team because of weight or while trying to excel at a sport where weight is a factor, such as wrestling. Career paths such as military or professional sports may also trigger eating disorders as men may feel that they need to conform to excessively high standards to excel in their chosen vocation.
Like women, men with anorexia may be controlling, perfectionists, and may have a family history of stringent family rules and expectations. There is also a definite link between eating disorders in men and family history of eating disorders. Parents can have an amazing effect, either positive or negative, on the risk of eating disorders in their children. Unfortunately, many parents don't realize that boys can acquire an eating disorder. They may encourage what they see as a new pattern of healthy eating adopted by their previously pizza-fed teenager. They may be thrilled that the video playing couch potato they are used to has decided to ‘get in shape'. While these are good changes and will be beneficial to a healthy lifestyle, they can be taken to the extreme and become a disordered eating pattern when the situation is right for anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder.
Treatment for men with eating disorders is the same as that for women. A combination of behavioral therapy, cognitive therapy, and possibly animal assisted therapy may be utilized to encourage healing. Professionals closely follow the progress of the patient and encourage them to make lifestyle changes that will allow them to continue the healing process as formal treatment lessens. Residential therapy may be more difficult to find, due the fact that many in-house treatment centers are geared solely to women. Even if men are accepted at the facilities, a man may find himself the only male patient being treated which can make him uncomfortable with seeking out and continuing recommended treatments.
The good news is that with a swift diagnosis, empathetic professionals, and increasing awareness, eating disorders among men can and are being treated with great success.