Eating disorders a growing issue among men
Doctor says one in three cases of anorexia nervosa is a male
Bulimia, anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders, long thought to be serious problems for many women, are showing up among surprisingly large numbers of men, some of whom are starving themselves or exercising obsessively to look like the pictures in men’s magazines.
Yet neither men themselves, nor most doctors, think of males as being at risk for these illnesses, experts say.
Community-based studies suggest one case in three of anorexia nervosa is a male, said Dr. Blake Woodside, director of the program for eating disorders at Toronto General Hospital. For bulimia, it is about one in four.
“And that’s a dramatic finding, because in clinical samples (based on people in treatment) it’s more like one in 15, or one in 20,” Woodside said.
The stigma, isolation and confusion around suffering from what has long been perceived as a “girl’s problem” can make men so reluctant to come forward that many arrive in treatment sicker than women.
“For men there is still such a stigma attached to the idea of having an eating disorder and reaching out for help,” said Joanna Anderson, clinical director at Sheena’s Place in Toronto. “And most of us in the eating-disorder world have more experience working with women.
“If you go for treatment and you’re in a group with 10 or 12 women and you’re the only man, it’s very difficult to feel like you’re not different.”
Yet men develop eating disorders for the same reasons women do, doctors say. Most have an underlying genetic vulnerability to the disease that can be triggered by a stressful life event, such as undiagnosed other psychiatric conditions, sexual or physical abuse, trouble in school, job loss — “the enormous range of things that make people feel bad,” Woodside said.
For boys, it can start with bullying or teasing, or something as simple as puberty.
An eating disorder can become a coping mechanism, a desperate grasp for control at a time when it feels as if their lives are unravelling.
But there can be a strong cultural component as well. Men, like women, are under pressure to conform to the “ideal” body type, and for men, that body tends to be linked to perceptions of success, control and power, said Merryl Bear of the National Eating Disorder Information Centre, which has launched a poster campaign to raise awareness of eating disorders in men.
“There has been a much stronger link between advertising and a particular glorification of the male physique in recent years,” Bear said. “The social ideal of the male body has become much more tightly linked to personal success.”
Media images can make men feel vulnerable about “who they are and how they present (themselves) in the world, ”Bear said. “And they’re told they can manage that by controlling their bodies.”