Male Anorexia
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Eating disorders such as anorexia are not just a "girl's problem". Eating disorders affect both sexes. The causes, effects and treatment are similar. The main difference is that it is more difficult to identify the disorder and to get adequate treatment for men
Studies on Male anorexia
There are few large studies of men with anorexia and bulimia. One of them is the one carried out by the department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. The study suggests that eating disorders may be higher among men than the current National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders estimates. They believe that men make up about 1 million of the 8 million Americans with eating disorders.
Another study in 2007 by the Harvard University Medical School suggested that up to 25% of adults with eating disorders were male. The study was based on information obtained from a mental health survey of nearly 9,000 adults across the U.S.
Dr Arnold E Andersen, MD a professor of psychiatry at the University of Iowa says that men with eating disorders have been "ignored, neglected and dismissed because of statistical infrequency".
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Misconceptions about male eating disorders
Misconceptions about male eating disorders, keep men from getting adequate treatment and often they are excluded from treatment based only on gender.
Anorexia is thought of as a girl's disease and men and their families think that it cannot happen to them. Even after they suspect it, they do not want to admit that they have "a girl's disease" and neither do they want to go to specialized care mainly aimed at women.
To make matters worse, men are more reluctant to ask for help because since childhood they are taught to "be in control", to "keep themselves together" without seeking out help. To be unable to control something in life is mistaken as a sign of weakness for men. Often, men are not allowed to express their feelings and may turn to eating disordered behaviour to cope with uncomfortable feelings. Even if men ask for professional help, they are frequently refused treatment. Most medical establishments are not prepared and many don't even know how to respond, as treatment is different in men and women because they have different worries and expectancies about their body image. Men relate in terms of "strong" or "weak". For some fat is associated with being weak, unmanly and disgusting. So, for many men, structured forms of exercise are carried to obsessive levels.
Physically, anorexia in men may be less noticeable than in women because men can still have muscle mass even though they are thin. But this fact makes anorexia more dangerous in men as they lose more muscle and tissue, as opposed to women losing mainly fat in the early stages.
Diagnosis
Diagnosing an eating disorder in a man is often more complicated than diagnosing that of a woman. Often men do not just ‘starve' themselves like the girls, but they over-exercise. So for a longer time, they tend to look healthier and muscular, whereas girls look washed out. Also, a classic sign of anorexia, amenorrhea, cannot be applied in men.
In men, Doctors are more likely to look for physical causes of weight change before considering an eating disorder. For men with eating disorders, levels of testosterone decrease along with sexual libido, which often go unreported or unnoticed. The eating disorder Bulimia may go partly unrecognized, as overeating by men is less likely to evoke concern. The diagnosis of an eating disorder in men takes about twice as long as in women, leaving the problems associated with the eating disorder to worsen.
Symptoms
Despite the gender differences, anorexia and bulimia are characterized, in both men and women, by essentially the same traits: self-induced starvation, an excessive fear of becoming fat even when thin, and a tendency toward compulsive living patterns.
Doctors often don't spot the signs in men. Symptoms can involve: -
- Noticeable weight loss or fluctuating in size.
- Obsessive preoccupation with body, weight and shape.
- Compulsive over-exercisin.
- Abuse of products that help "bulk up".
- Decreased sexual desire.
- Depression, fatigue.
- Performing food rituals or restricting the amounts or types of foods eaten (eating no fat or eating only vegetables, for example). Also Inability to eat with others.
- Vomiting or using laxatives or diuretics.
- Use of diet pills.
- Perfectionist behaviour.
- Isolating oneself.
- Thinning hair.
Assessment Quiz
- Assessment Quiz
If you are worried that you or someone you know might be suffering from an eating disorder, you can do the assessment quiz offered by the eating disorders organization. There are only a few questions to answer and you get an immediate assessment.
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Recovery
An important part of recovery is accepting that you have an eating disorder and talking about it.
What To Do?
- See a physician to identify any physical problems contributing to, or resulting from, the eating disorder.
- Speak with a psychotherapist or mental-health professional who specializes in the treatment of these disorders.
- Experts also recommend contacting a nutritionist or registered dietician to help develop healthful eating habits and menu planning.
Male Eating Disorder Survivor
Male anorexia in the news
- USA Today Male Anorexia
Thomas Holbrook knows from experience that eating disorders don't discriminate between the sexes. A Wisconsin psychiatrist who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, Holbrook became victim of anorexia after suffering a knee injury.
Risk factors in men:
Some factors that might put a man at risk of being affected by an eating disorder are:
- Negative family patterns. Parents who stress fitness or athleticism to an unhealthy degree, or have unrealistic expectations for their children.
- Media influence. Magazines and TV commercials increasingly sport photos of lean, muscular, athletic-looking men.
- Traumatic events. Sexual, physical or emotional abuse.
- During adolescence, teasing and taunting by their peers, as well as difficulty fitting into the masculine values of competitiveness, aggressiveness, strength, athleticism and independence.
- Overweight in childhood which leads to dieting during puberty.
- Confusion and anxiety about becoming a man and growing up. Some males attempt to deal with their sexual impulses by developing an eating disorder as a way to attempt to regain control over their bodies.
- The practice of certain sports where body shape and size are important. For example: runners, jockeys, gymnasts, ice skaters and dancers are at increased risk. Also wrestlers who try to shed pounds quickly before a match so they can compete in a lower weight category seem to be at special risk.
- A job or profession that demands thinness, like modelling and acting.
- Men who experienced intense emotional pain and do not know how to cope with it in a healthy way, try to control eating habits, weight or bodily functions as means to provide a sense of control
Forum on anorexia
- Eating Disorder Bulletin Board | Anorexia Forums | Bulimia | ED Forums | Compulsive Overeating | The
Forum on anorexia. A place to share your story and find support. Their bulletin board is closely monitored to ensure everyone's best interests -- and those wishing to post will have to register first. - Forum for people with eating disorders
This forum is for everyone with any type of Eating Disorder who wants to interact with others and talk about emotions and issues surrounding the battle and recovery from an Eating Disorder.
Male Celebrities with Eating Disorders
- Elton John, gone public about his struggles with bulimia.
- Actor Billy Bob Thornton went public about his weight issues and struggles with anorexia.
- Actor Dennis Quaid spoke out about his battle with anorexia in the mid-1990s which he developed because he had to lose some weight for a role in a movie.
- Actor Matthew Perry (Friends) was battling an eating disorder in the past.
- Elvis Presley suffered an eating disorder and chronic depression.
- Alfred Hitchcock struggled with compulsive eating.
- Musician Richey James struggled with anorexia.
- John Lennon struggled with anorexia before his death.
- Franz Kafka, suffered from anorexia.
- Businessman David Beckermert, a successful CEO and President of a billion-dollar Calgary oil and gas company, openly talked about his struggle with bulimia,
Men-Anorexia and social influence
Societal pressures to obtain the "ideal" body image are no longer gender specific. Men's magazines focussing on looks, fitness, and nutrition are as numerous as female magazines. Also television and movies saturate us with images of beautifully buildt men. The male body has become a sex object as much as the female body has been for decades.
Nowadays, men comprise over a quarter of all cosmetic surgery patients. Men as much as women are keen to have restrictive diets, cosmetic surgery, beauty treatments and whatever might be necessary to look the way they want.
More about ED:
- Eating Disorders
In a society which places excessive values on being slim, many women have a tortured relationship with food and their bodies. Sadly, eating disorders are rife, particularly among teenage girls, however, women and men of all ages can be afflicted by... - 18 months ago
- Bulimia: help yourself
Are you Bulimic and want to change that? Do you want to regain control of your life and finish with the circle of Bulimic behaviour? The most important thing to stopping bulimic behaviour is wanting to stop it. You are the only person who can decide whether to stop it or not. - 3 years ago
- Bulimia
Eating and vomiting are not new behaviours in our society. They existed together since the antiquity. It is recorded that during the time of the great Roman Emperors vomiting was an accepted behaviour during their parties and orgies. It was such a common behaviour that there was an area called the “vomitorium”. - 3 years ago
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Thanks Isabella, I hope it helps bring awareness.
Fantastically well-researched hub, Princessa. My stepson had anorexia as a youngster -apparently it started when he was a babe in arms. Luckily it didn't affect his physical health but he was uncommunicative, moody and lacking in social skills. Still dosn't admit it to it, though luckily, when he was 17, his mother got him into a behaviourist programme, which got participants involved in cooking their own meals and through it, discussion on eating habits. He's still quirky and a strict vegetarian - and almost unconsciously uses refusal of food to convey displeasure or pain. But he's mostly normal, a highly sucessfull architec and Dad of two gorgeous toddlers. But it was as you point out, a refusal to diagnose this in a mae that took so long I first suggested it might be the case when I noticed his ritualised eating habits and labile bhaiours around food - but the professionals insisted, anorexia is a woman.
Rapidwriter: Thanks for your comment. I think that the more awareness on the disease the better will react to it. The more we know about it, the easier it would be to help our dearest ones who might be in danger.
It is important that health professionals stop with their misconceptions on anorexia and that patients and their families insist in adequate treatment.
Princessa, Great to get this conversation started. While you focused on anorexia you also mentioned compulsive eating which is significant problem with men.
One of the problems with male compulsive eating is men are considered "hardy" or "stout" or "powerful" when they really are overweight even medically obese. In our culture men are not seen as overweight until it is very noticeable such as a man who is 5'9" at 225 pounds. Even then he is not considered obese even though medically he would be. Women are often considered plump or overweight with just 10 to 15 pounds extra.
Many men I have talked to who are 80 or more pounds overweight want to get down to a weight that would have them medically still at least 40 pounds overweight. They say that any less and they would feel too thin.
I am 5'9", and at 155 pounds am right in the middle of the suggested healthy weight range. Yet most Americans tell me that I look too thin.
If a guy is overweight, chances are extremely good that he has a compulsive eating disorder (I call it the Food Monster). Unfortunately, he probably won't admit it and the culture supports it.
Jason
Jason:
I think Americans are used to see 'bigger' people. I remember everybody remarking on how thin I was when I was living in NY. Yet, I was within my healthy weight! it was very frustrating.
It is true that men are "allowed" to have extra weigth without being thought as compulsive eaters. We tend to be more critical of women who over eat than of men. That is why it is important to rise awareness that eating disorders affect both sexes.
Quite interesting list of celebrities! Thanks.
Nice find. Thanks for the heads up
I want to exercise my boobs: Hi, I visited your page, http://www.man-boobs.org very interesting. I hope that it can help others with the same problem.
Also I want to thank you for bringing awareness of this problem to my hub.
It is true that big people will hang out with big people- similarly, skinny people will seek out appropriately sized friends . Great hub and thanks for talking about a subject that is not often mentioned.
wellness5: you are welcome. I hope more people becomes aware of this problem to help those who suffer from it.
The key for healthy life is balance don't do too much from anything
You can find more more about dieat at http://besthubpages.com/search.php?what=diet
Really good hub and great informations!
Learn and Know: thanks for the link to some very interesting resources about dieting.
Jeedad: I hope it was useful, shared it with others as the key to help male anorexics is information.
My father at his 89+ makes an interesting study.
He is thin....has been so almost throughout his life. He has remained fit by controlling his food intake and long hours of walk.He is having a little problems with aches and pains and have lost most of vision because glaumoma.But, his all other organs are fine.
At this age, he is obsessed with food intake quantity, has become underwight as a result of anorexia and is on the verge of physical weakness.He can easily eat heartily , continue having long walks and add 4 kgs to his 5'10" frame which weighs around 52 kgs !!
His problem arises from the fact that he believes eating less and less and less and less is the way to live long w/out 'life-style' diseases.Anorexia has given him a long life, but, kept him at the border-line of weakness for last 8 years or so.I also feel he ability to enjoy and have a 'let-go' attitude he should sport with his financial,family and health situations is missing.
I know this isnt really the place but i'm 17 year old male from Scotland. I have been struggling with my weight since i was 14. As a child/teen i was overweight now i am medically underweight. I dont eat for days on end and when i do i purge. I cant help it, i feel like such a failure when i eat like i'm not even a human being. It gets me so down sometimes that i'm "fat" i feel like ending my life, like its perfection or nothing at all. My parents are going through a divorce atm and in the past 3 years 2 of my best friends have died. I only eat in secret and even then the maximum is 500 calories a day anymore and i have to exercise more than i all ready do. I have had 2 gym memberships revoked. My parents always try to get me to eat saying i'm too thin and they threaten me with hospital sometimes. The only thing i can say i'm happy with is my school work i have been accepted into the best uni in Scotland and i'm a straight A student. I passed all exams with flying colours yet i still feel i could do better. I abuse painkillers such as vicodin and oxycodone. The only reason why i'm typing this atm is because i'm high and feeling a little brave, i dont even know why i type this because i know i wont change my ways or get help. But yes there is a problem with male eating disorders they do exist and all i am in the abyss is another statistic.
Sorry for the wall of text i really just need to vent.
shyamchat and ManifestDestiny: Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. Feel free to come back any time you need to. All the best!
ManifestDestiny i wan't to reply but i kinda can't and i dought you will read this, but i think thats sad! like you friends and your parents! TT-TT . I'm doing a grade 8 school speech on anorexia and i've looked up a bunch of stuff on it and yeah but not eating is terrible! like i eat alot but i don't get bigger so everyone says im anorexic but im not >0< but you should be eating bbecause the things anorexia can do are scary..
This is a very interesting hub. As a long-time sufferer of fluctuating bulimia nervosa and anorexia, I have always wondered how many men and boys suffered from the disorders as well. Though women are 8 times as likely to fall victim to these disorders, I'm sure there are more men out there who aren't being treated because they haven't told anyone, possibly due to shame that the social stigma provides them. This isn't a "girl's disease" it is a human emotional and psychological disorder that men and women actoss the globe suffer from for one reason or another, and it is something one cannot just "walk away" from at the drop of a hat. I really feel sorry for men and boys who suffer from this, possibly feeling less than a man because of the social stigma, and they probably don't get the help they so desperately need. Society needs to change the way it thinks about anorexia and bulimia.
Loved the post!
missesMask :)
missesMask: thanks for sharing your experience. Awareness is one of the keys to help ED sufferers.
Hi Princessa,
Nicely done....a subject not discussed schools. It seems to me that the beauty industry first dissected the female body and marketed solutions for each part of the body (eyes, lips, hair...) and perpetuated a myth on the ideal body shape. This has expanded slowly over the past 2-3 decades to marketing to men. Now living in a smaller town (having moved from a 1 m+ populated city) I heard for the first time on the radio an add directed to men about laser hair removal!
Perhaps we need to look closer at the social and demographic changes that have taken place over the past 40-50 years and arm families and boys/young men with knowledge and develop their intellect to make better decisions.
Cheers,Grant
Heya, do you have a reference for the harvard study??
Hi Grant, it is amazing how such an important issue is ignored at schools.
Hi Jane,you can find more direct information here: http://www.mclean.harvard.edu/news/press/current.p
I am so darn fat I wish I had this problem.
profitindex: Anorexia is a very real problem. People with anorexia can suffer a number of potentially fatal medical conditions, including heart disease, kidney and liver disease, and potassium and magnesium imbalances that can lead to heart failure.
In addition, they often suffer from osteoporosis, low blood pressure, ulcers, dizziness, irregular heart rhythm, headaches, and many other physical problems. Anorexic statistics indicate that they also experience anxiety, depression, and other psychological problems as well.
You should be thankful NOT to have this problem.
this is not really how it is in real life, belive me. It's not nearly this "nice".
You can't sleep cuz ur hungry, u cant focus cuz u've got no energy. After a while you can't eaven keep on exercising cuz you faint every time cuz ur bodu just cant take it any more.
I know it's a matter of time before I die of not eating. No one sees what I'm going through. I always lie and tell them I ate. I want to die because my life has no meaning. I'm a nobody. My weight is the only thing that is important to me. That's the only thing I have control of because I have no control of anything else in my life. I'm just going through the motions of living when in fact I have no life worth living. I'll miss things but I know I went out doing something I was in control of that had a meaning to my life. This is not a crying out for help, and I don't care if anyone feels sorry for me. No one knows me or understands me at all. No one sees me, I'm not even a person to anyone. The best thing I can do for myself is to die doing something I believed in. That's all that matters to me. I don't want to eat or care to eat. It's my slow suicide to ending my life. They say life is beautiful but I never got a chance to see it. It's all been suffering and ugly to me. The more weight I lose the happier I am knowing that one day my suffering will come to an end.
great site. it's true. most people see anorexics as being woman only. it really is a sad thing.
Thanks for the detailed an informative hub! As a woman who has struggled with eating problems in the past, I've really only read up on ED in relation to women. It's good to know that there are people out there spreading the word about these diseases and their effects on BOTH genders.
Great hub! I also just wanted to point out that the somethingfishy forum link you posted isn't just for anorexia, but bulimia, compulsive overeating, binge eating, and EDNOS (eating disorders not otherwise specified), as well. I do believe, however, that there is a section on that board dedicated to males struggling with eating disorders. Eating disorders in general have such an innumerable amount of misconceptions surrounding them, and this is a biggie. Very informative!
men have anorexia?? that is total news to me.. probably because where I come from men eat like pigs and they all have beer guts! very well written hub and another thing I've learnt today. Thanks princess
great hub
Megan: it is sad and dangerous, because these misconceptions stop men from getting help on time.
infinitenesmith: Eating disorders affect both men and women, it is just that most of the media has concentrated in ED in women and have ignored ED in men.
Sound of Me: thank you for your support.
Mamelody: you are welcome. I think this is a very important issue.
Vivek: Just trying to bring awareness to the topic.
It's good that you have brought this important subject to light.
I myself have never suffered with an eating disorder. but i do feel very sorry for the people that do suffer with it must be very hard for all of you to deal with, don't suffer alone
Natalie x
Lovelypaper and Miss Nat: Thanks for your support.
i am researching this for my project in High School and i was curious if you could help with the info??
I am researching this for my service learning:BTW.
It was years ago that i had gone thru this myself. Mine was due to stress be on my control and the only thing i could control was my intake of food. I am now 41 and healthy. I married 15 years ago to a not heavy man but healthy man, just in the past few years i have noticed how wanting to be like guys on magizines he has change. It is easy for someone who has been thru itto see it. Thou i have told him he is too thin as weel as others he laughs. To me it is changing our lives. He worksout 4 hours a day and eats only small meals.All the signs are there, how do i make him realize how he is hurting his family? When i went thru it i was younger and did not have children. How do you handle a 43 year old competing with guys in there 20's?
Thanks for the info!
Paula
Ce'Ce: just let me know what you need.
Paula: thanks for sharing your story. I really wish I could help, you know better than anyone else what is it to cope with an ED, maybe you are the best qualified person to help your husband or at least to take him to a especialist, someone properly trained who can help him before is too late.
I wish you all the best for you and your family. If you can please DO keep as updated on how you are coping.
The Channel Four Programme Supersize Vs. Superskinny are currently looking for people to take part in Series 4. Across the series we are hoping to follow a group of people who suffer from an eating disorder as they take part in an eight week treatment programme.
If you want help tackling your eating disorder then please get in touch. We are looking for people who are affected by anorexia, bulimia, laxative abuse, orthorexia, binge eating and obsessive compulsive disorder related to their eating habits. Participants will be supported by a fully qualified psychotherapist and nutritionist, both specialising in eating disorders, before, during and after their individually devised programmes.
If you would like to find out more please get in touch by email: findoutmore@endemoluk.com
It is true. Often I thought it is a disease that concerns primairly women.
Due to this article I learned that I was as wrong as I could be.
Thanks to this article I have a renewed mind.
Perhaps, I think, in men because of their competitive nature, it is more likely that the eating disorder is caused by the practice of a sport, than women..
I do not know, is my thought.
However, it is very sad. In any case.
Nice work, very informative Hub
(I did not know that John Lennon was suffering from anorexia)
Great hub, looks like you've really done your research
Great work princess,well written and properly packaged. THANKS DEAR FOR SHARING.
Thank you.
I'm a recovering anorexic, male of course. And I'm just exploring for information and positive disclosure.
Welcoming the unaware, absolutely heart felt. Keep doing what you're doing. Very useful.
Much respect, Jamie Mann.
fucsia: yes, the practice of some competitive sports can trigger anorexia in men.
Jamie: thanks for sharing your experience. All the best on your way to a complete recovery from anorexia.
Very interesting hub. The emphasis on appearance affects women more, but it certainly can and does affect males. It's easy to blame the advertising and media, but I believe there are simply not enough reinforcements. Good health and appearance go hand-in-hand sometimes, but function should not ever be sacrificed for form.
SpiffyD: The emphasis on appearance is very strong in men, women and scarily enough even in children. Unfortunately now you can even see primary school children extremely worried about their image which I found very sad.
Isabella Snow 3 years ago
Wow, you never think about men having this problem. Good hub, Princessa!