Eating disorders in men: update

Abstract

Men with anorexia and bulimia nervosa account for 10% of people with this condition and for binge eating disorder they account for as many as 25%. Risk factors in men include athletics, sexuality, psychiatric co-morbidity and negative life experiences. Differences in eating disorders exist between men and women relating to behavior and psychological symptoms. Men are much more likely than women to underestimate body size and desire a more muscular body. Men are less likely than women to engage in typical compensatory behaviors such as vomiting and more likely to engage in activities such as excessive exercise to attempt to lose weight or counteract the effects of eating. Men are more likely than women to binge rather than restrict due to negative body image. Studies show that men with eating disorders are less likely to seek treatment than women are. Obstacles to treatment include cultural biases toward eating disorders because they are considered to be female disorders, a lack of trained professionals and a lack of treatment setting that specifically deals with male eating disorders patients. Finally, even with little research to guide treatment of eating disorders, the outcome seems to be similar for men and women.

Disordered eating behaviors and body image in male athletes

“…4 It is known that, in general, men's preferred body image is muscular. 11 Given the fact that the BSQ does not provide information focusing on a specific ideal of body image, it is not possible to know if its results indicate a desire to lose BF, gain muscle mass, or both.…”

“…10 In males, eating disorders are more common among athletes, especially those whose sport requires strict weight control. 8,11 Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify disordered eating behaviors and body image dissatisfaction, and their relationship to BF percentage, among male athletes in high risk sports for eating disorders.…”

Disordered Eating in Undergraduates: Does Gender Role Orientation Influence Men and Women the Same Way?

“…For example, previous research suggests that men may be more vulnerable to excessive exercise (Anderson & Bulik, 2004) and are more likely to report wanting to gain weight rather than become thinner (Brook & Tepper, 1997;Furnham et al, 2002;O'Dea & Abraham, 1999;Raudenbush & Zellner, 1997), yet the EDI does not measure either of these variables. In addition, previous research has indicated that whereas bulimia may be more common in women than in men (Weltzin et al, 2005), binge eating disorder is equally common among men and women (Grucza, Przybeck, & Cloninger, 2007); yet, the EDI assesses binging and purging together in the bulimia scale. Future research may wish to utilize a more robust measure of disordered eating designed for men in particular.…”

Is self-esteem the primary predictor of disordered eating?

“…Although a majority of the research in the field of eating disorders focuses on women, recently attention to these topics in males has been on the rise (Pope, Phillips, & Olivardia, 2002). In fact, it has been estimated that 10% of the people with anorexia and bulimia nervosa are men (Weltzin et al, 2005).…”

“…Although a majority of the research in the field of eating disorders focuses on women, recently attention to these topics in males has been on the rise (Pope, Phillips, & Olivardia, 2002). In fact, it has been estimated that 10% of the people with anorexia and bulimia nervosa are men (Weltzin et al, 2005).It is undisputed that low self-esteem contributes to disordered eating. For example, Button, Loan, Davies, and Sonuga- Barke (1997) found that girls who displayed eating disordered behaviors also reported lower self-esteem.…”