Gym-honed bodies contribute to 40pc rise in men treated for eating disorders

 The number of men referred for treatment for eating disorders has risen by more than 40 per cent in two years, amid warnings that such cases are likely to be the tip of the iceberg.

Experts said pressures to achieve the gym-honed bodies promoted on social media were among the factors fuelling such disorders.

And they said diseases such as anorexia and bulimia were being under-diagnosed among men, despite attempts to break the secrecy around such conditions.

Figures just published show that in two years, the number of men referred for eating disorders has risen from 616 to 871 cases. B-eat, the charity, said the true number of sufferers was likely to be higher.

Its estimates suggest that of 725,000 people with eating disorders, up to one in four is male.

The figures, revealed by the BBC’S Panorama, come as a number of sportsmen have spoken out about their struggles with eating disorders.

Nigel Owens, an international rugby referee, spoke about his ongoing battle with bulimia, while Bradley Pryce, ex-commonwealth light middleweight boxing champion, said that the same condition ruined his career.

Separate research suggests that male elite athletes are 16 times more likely to develop an eating disorder than the average man.