Male eating disorder on the rise
Society dictates the ideal of beauty which often pushes women, and even men, to fall into the dangerous trap known as eating disorders. A culture of muscularity has spurred eating problems among men who face a lingering stigma about suffering a “woman’s disorder“.
Anorexia nervosa has been investigated within the female population. It is primarily because of the apparent prevalence of eating disorders in women. However, on a closer inspection, gender distributions of eating disorders show about 10 percent of people with anorexia are men.
Evidence suggests that the gender bias of clinicians diagnose bulimia or anorexia in men as less likely despite identical behavior. Men are more likely to be diagnosed as suffering depression with associated appetite changes than getting a primary diagnosis an eating disorder.
Job requirement
Demands of some occupations calls for a low body weights that can result to anorexia or bulimia. Among these occupations are hose racing, modeling, dancing, distance running, and driving.
Cultural and social issues related to anorexia
The hidden root problem of eating disorders in men is cultural. Women, by nature, tend to openly discuss emotions and psychological problems more than men. Anorexia is generally perceived to be a woman’s problem. The common features in women’s magazines include discussion of weight issues, weight control, linking thinness with beauty. Young women can therefore adopt the same behavior without being seen as too socially unacceptable.
Lack of visibility of anorexia in male
There is little recognition of anorexia in the male population. It shows implications that men do not discuss eating disorders. Men tend to withhold information with other men especially if the subject is female issue. The definition of men has to do with body mass, muscle bulge and definition, and not weight loss. The male world is socially defined as powerful and masculine results in men reluctant to admit their eating disorders and not seek help.
An extensive US study of adolescents reported in 1995 show significant number of young males who experience problem weight control behavior.
- 2% to 3% of males diet all the time or more than ten times a year
- 5% to 14% of males intentionally vomit after eating
- 12% to 21% had a history of binge eating
The reluctance of men who suffers from anorexia can develop into dire health consequences and possible death. If you are experiencing problems with weight control you are not alone. Get help by contacting your family doctor, a psychologist, mental health center or a doctor specializing in eating disorders.
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1. A teenager with anorexia nervosa is typically a high achiever and a perfectionist in school. Despite of these traits, she suffers from low self esteem, irrationally believing she is fat no matter how thin she becomes. The teenager with anorexia nervosa thinks she can only gain control over her life when she refuses to eat “normal” food that her body demands. In a relentless pursuit to be thin (if not thin enough), the girl starves herself sometimes to the point of fatality. It often reaches to the point of creating serious damage to the body reaching to a small number of cases leading to death.
2. Bulimia, on the other hand, have symptoms different from anorexia nervosa. The person who is bulimic binges on exceedingly large quantities of high caloric food and/or purges her body of the dreaded calories by means of self induced vomiting and often use laxatives. It results to dramatic weight fluctuations from binges alternating with severe diets. People who are bulimic often mask the sound of vomiting by running water while spending long periods of time in the comfort room. The act of purging of bulimia presents a very serious threat to the physical health of the person involved including dehydration, hormonal imbalance, the depletion of essential minerals, and damage to vital organs.