Disordered Eating Among Men
Eating disorders affect men at sharply higher levels than previously thought, according to a new study in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The study estimates that two out of every 100 men have an eating disorder compared to about five out of every 100 women.
The real news is in the ratios: researchers previously said they thought that about 10% of people with eating disorders were men, but the study finds that as many as one-quarter to one-third are men.
"It's harder for men to recognize it in the first place and ask for help and get treatment," says Wisconsin psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Holbrook. who adds that this is because most men consider eating disorders women's diseases. They may not recognize the symptoms or they may be too embarrassed to seek help.
Dr. Holbrook was an anorexic for 12 years himself and only got counseling after one of his patients confronted him.
Some experts say men are becoming increasingly at risk for eating disorders because of constant images of "perfection" in the media--a situation women have had to endure.
Photos of muscular guys with impossibly lean physiques constitute, for some men, both the unattainable and a recipe for self-destruction.
The study also found men with eating disorders were more likely to suffer psychiatric problems than healthy men, such as major depression and phobias, illnesses common in women with eating disorders.
Experts say the only way to break the cycle is to end the denial and get help.
"I just want to eat normally," one patient says.
The latest study did not examine the role of sexual orientation. Prior studies have shown gay men are more likely to suffer from eating disorders but heterosexual men are at risk too.
For more information:
American Anorexia Bulimia Association
www.aabainc.org
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
www.anad.org
hotline: 847 831-3438
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