Men and Eating Disorders

by gugs4657 (student)

University Degree Subjects allied to Medicine

Studies have shown that it is uncommon for men to have eating disorders. Men with eating disorders are often overlooked by medical professionals due to the lack of research pertaining to the disease. Medical professionals see this as a women’s disease, so professionals look at the male with an eating disorder and think of other, more drastic problems. Eating disorders in general are a difficult disease to handle and men are not usually as willing to get help compared to women. It is important for medical professionals to remember that men and women both are afflicted by eating disorders and to not judge the person regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

Eating disorders typically afflict women, but men are not immune. Older studies have shown that men make up 10% of all those who have an eating disorder, but Harvard released a study showing that it is now near 25%. The percentage of men with eating disorders sky-rockets to 40% when binge-eating was included in the numbers. Majority of the research conducted primarily have women participants but usually have about a 2:1 ratio of women to men. The Campbell Survey on Youth reports that 67% of males 10-14 state that controlling their weight is important to them. According to the survey, 53% of men and boys in high school and college wish to lose weight while only 26% of them actually described themselves as overweight. (Philpott, Sheppard, 28).

Understanding this condition requires some knowledge. According to the National Public Radio article, Men With Eating Disorders Often Overlooked, “Females typically develop eating disorders from an obsession with thinness. In men, the Harvard Study says, it’s the pursuit of ripped stomach muscles, the so-called six-pack abs” (Conan). Men are less likely to get help and doctors paid no attention to the problem since eating disorders are considered a women’s condition to most people. In the Campbell Survey on Youth, many males who revealed to their doctors about their eating disorder, did not receive help or were not diagnosed. The men in this study reported having characteristics of all three categories of eating disorders: anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive overeating.

It is important to know the terms in which are being brought up. Anorexia Nervosa is when an individual who has an extremely low body weight and has a fear of its increase, they essentially starve themselves or eats very little. Bulimia Nervosa is when an individual repeatedly binge eats then follows it up by behaviors to counteract it, like making themselves throw up or inappropriately uses laxatives. Compulsive binge-eating is when an individual “rapidly and excessively” consumes food “not necessarily driven by hunger or metabolic need” (Foulds Mathes et al.).

Men that do not get help for their ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Men that do not get help for their eating disorder truly do not believe it is a problem. The men do not see themselves as being at risk so they do not believe they need to get help. Professionals and friends of a male with an eating disorder like anorexia may feel the losing of weight has to do with a drug problem. Studies have shown that a lot of men with eating disorders are homosexual, which is another reason why men do not want treatment. These men do not want to be thought of as homosexual. Although in recent studies, sexual orientation was not shown or discussed. The article, Assessing and Treating Men with Eating Disorders, says that it is important for the clinicians to “reassure heterosexual male patients that the diagnosis of an eating disorder does not require any specific sexual orientation and that no assumptions will be made about sexual orientation” (Woodside).

In order for men to get the treatment they need, they need a good support group. Many support groups have just women since majority of those who have an eating disorder are in fact women. It is uncommon for there to be a strictly male eating disorder support group. Some women feel better about having a man in their support group because it shows them that men have similar insecurities. There are treatment programs for men and women but most programs cater to just women because of how uncommon it is for men to reach out for help. Since there are not many (if any) male specific treatment programs, it reinforces the sense that treatment is only for women.

There are many reasons why men would have an eating disorder. Some men want to be thinner to show off their muscles, for whatever reason it is a problem in their head that makes them feel it is okay to starve themselves or purge. While some men have a compulsive binge-eating disorder, it comforts them to eat. Ten percent of men with an eating disorder reported a history of sexual abuse. Sexual abuse affects both men and women but it is more common in women, so ten percent is a larger number than it appears. It seems that 1 in 4 men who have an eating disorder have been victims of sexual abuse. Professionals believe that the occurrence of sexual abuse play an important role in the root of an eating disorder for both men and women.

In some cases, athletics is to play in a person’s eating disorder. A common sport that requires athletes to maintain their weight is wrestling. Men in wrestling receive a lot of pressure to keep weight, this sport has weight classes and once a wrestler is assigned a weight class it is difficult to move up or down classes. In order to keep their weight, the men (or women) have to diet. Though sometimes dieting is not enough so the wrestlers take to throwing up and starving themselves. A common way to lose weight the night before a tournament or meet is by spitting and exercising with layers of clothing on. I know this because I used to wrestle in high school and our coaches would tell us to add sweatshirts if we were off our weight. The coaches would tell certain members of the team to not eat the night before and the day of a meet. Sometimes these wrestlers are so used to fasting and purging that it becomes a habit that they cannot get rid of.

Though women are more affected than men with an eating disorder, the outcomes can still be equally tragic. Eating disorders are dangerous and sometimes fatal. Those that are anorexic are or can become depressed, anxious and have obsessive behaviors. Their heart rates start to slow and their body temperature lowers. Anorexia, like other eating disorders are considered mental disorders. In studies, it is shown that starvation leads to an obsession with food, sometimes resulting in loss of sleep and lost interest in sex.

At last, studies are starting to show that it is more common than previously thought for men to have an eating disorder. Whether it is anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or binge-eating, men and women are suffering, but men are less likely to receive professional help. Medical professionals do not purposely overlook men with eating disorders but it does happen. Regardless of gender or sexual orientation, eating disorders are a disease that requires attention before the damage becomes irreversible.

Works Cited

Conan, Neal. "Men With Eating Disorders Often Overlooked." Audio blog post. LexisNexis Academic & Library Methods. National Public Radio (NPR), 19 May 2007. Web. 4 Dec. 2011.

This article is from an educational and legitimate source. The article is about how men have issues dealing with an eating disorder. It talks about how doctors do overlook eating disorders in men. Some men called into the show to talk about their eating disorders and those people they know that have the condition.

Foulds Mathes, Wendy, Kimberly A. Brownley, Xiaofei Mo, and Cynthia M. Bulik. "The Biology of Binge Eating." Appetite 52.3 (2009): 545-53. ScienceDirect. Elsevier, 20 Mar. 2009. Web. 4 Dec. 2011. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666309000506>.

This article is from an educational and informative source. The article defines what binge-eating is. It has a lot of other useful information in it about binge-eating.

"Men and Eating Disorders | Eating Disorder." Eating Disorders: Anorexia, Bulimia, Compulsive Eating, Binge Eating, Eating Disorder Treatment. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. <http://www.eating-disorder.org/men.html>.

This website is a support method for those who have eating disorders or have loved ones with an eating disorder. It has information about eating disorders and reasons why someone would have an eating disorder.

Philpott, David, and Glenn Sheppard. "More Than Mere Vanity." Guidance & Counseling 13.4 (1998): 28. EBSCO Host. Web. 4 Dec. 2011.

This article talks about how men and boys that are in high school and college are preoccupied by weight. They wish to lose weight, even those who are not overweight. It speaks of those men who disclosed to their doctors about their eating disorder, did not recieve help for the condition. This article talks about men in a study were all dissatisfied with their bodies, regardless of actual body size.

Sodersten, Per, Cecilia Bergh, and Michel Zandian. "Understanding Eating Disorders." Hormones and Behavior 50.4 (2006): 572-78. ScienceDirect. Elsevier, 4 Aug. 2006. Web. 4 Dec. 2011. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0018506X06001723>.

This article talks about anorexia and its effect on the body.

Treasure, Janet. "Eating Disorders." The Lancet 375.9714 (2010): 583. ScienceDirect. The Lancet, 13 Feb. 2010. Web. 4 Dec. 2011. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673609617487>.

This article defines eating disorders. It is also very educational.

Woodside, Blake D. "Assessing and Treating Men With Eating Disorders." Psychiatric Times. LexisNexis Academic, 1 Mar. 2004. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

This article is about assessing and treating men with eating disorders. It talks about how uncommon men with eating disorders used to be but now professionals are seeing more it them. It seems that men do not want to be seen as homosexual and/or feel that they are not at risk or even have the disorder just because it is commonly a "women's" disease!

Woodside, D. "Personality in Men with Eating Disorders." Journal of Psychosomatic Research 57.3 (2004): 273-78. Print.

This is a very educational and informational journal source. The journal goes in about body mass index of men and women and how it affects them and their eating disorder. The point of the study was to show how personality affects the disorder in them and it was shown that men are less at risk to develop "perfectionism, harm avoidance, reward dependence and cooperativeness" than women.