Male Eating Disorders

Although most people believe that eating disorders are only women’s problems, health experts say that many men also suffer from this disorder. A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in 2001 reports that they encounter one male with anorexia for every four females with the disorder. Despite this, a study done at the McLean Hospital in Massachusetts indicated that only 16 percent of men with eating disorders seek treatment as opposed to 52 percent of females. Many believe this is because this problem is not as socially acceptable for men as women. At any given time, about 25 percent of men in the United States are actively trying to lose weight. Although some men diet in order to improve their health, others diet for reasons that have nothing to do with physical health. Emotional factors such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or low self esteem can contribute to the eating disorders of both males and females. The most common forms of eating disorders in men are compulsive overeating and binge eating. Men with this type of eating disorder feel guilty about consuming a lot of food and then go on intensely restrictive diets or engage in extremely intense physical exercise. This is similar to the behavior of women with eating disorders and, in fact, studies have found that men and women with eating disorders are clinically similar. Both men and women worry about their body image. However, while women often focus on trying to look thin, the dominant male image is one of strength and fitness. Some men seek to adopt the body image of athletes they admire.

Participation in sports is the most common reason men focus on managing their weight. Eating disorders seem to affect some athletes at rates much greater than the general population. The Division of Sports Medicine at Maine Medical Center reports that eating disorders are on the rise among male athletes. Males who participate in sports that require leanness for a competitive edge may have a greater risk for eating disorders. For example, sports like wrestling and boxing require men to maintain a certain body weight that is within a particular weight-class cutoff point. Some wrestlers take drastic measures to reach a certain weight. This includes exercising excessively and wearing rubber suits in order to lose water weight. Other sports, like bicycling, gymnastics, swimming, diving and track also emphasize low body weight. Compounding the problem, some of those same athletes overeat later in the year to increase their weight so that they can play football.. Although trying to maintain a certain body weight for a particular sport is not necessarily a sign of an eating disorder, many men end up with behaviors about their food consumption that is counterproductive and harmful to their health.

One suggested treatment of athletes with eating disorders is a team approach which includes regular interaction with a dietician, a team physician and other professionals, as needed. Health promotion and health education programs have been conducted in university settings since the mid 1980s, but not always with significant improvements in health attitudes and behaviors. Because there is no universal cause or treatment for eating disorders, everyone with an eating disorder should be evaluated and treated individually, based on the unique characteristics of their case.