Can Eating Disorders Affect Men?
How common are eating disorders among men?
It is usually stated that one in ten people with eating disorders are men. However, recent figures from the NHS Data Centre instructed the real figure is truly abundant higher, with 700,000 men being registered as having some type of disorder to try to to with their weight and eating, 1 / 4 of the overall number of people affected.
While it is tough to be actual in terms of numbers, it's clear that there are a number of men who hide their eating disorder and don't get help. This is because several men feel eating disorders are a 'feminine' condition and this shame is combined with the guilt and secrecy common to all disorders of this nature. In men, they typically develop between the age of fourteen and twenty five, however it is a condition which will occur at any age.
How do they develop in men?
Eating disorders in men have several of the same causes as eating disorders in women. There will definitely be a variety of different causes and these might include childhood trauma, family difficulties, stressful life events, low self esteem, personality factors and genetic predisposition. The eating disorder becomes a way of expressing tough feelings that the individual cannot cope with.
Eating disorders in men can be expressed in a completely different manner to eating disorders in girls - men and boys may be more preoccupied with having a muscular physique than losing weight. Male disorders are often closely linked with exercise and will initially seem to be healthy, masking the underlying problem. As an example, sudden weight loss could seem the results of a training programme for a marathon or triathlon. Equally, there's also proof that men are facing similar pressures to ladies in terms of conforming to an unrealistic body shape, projected by celebrities, sportsmen and models. Studies have shown increasing numbers of men feel dissatisfied with their own bodies and this dissatisfaction and anxiety can develop at young age.
Risk factors
A number of the identical risk factors known to use to women seem to additionally apply to men and there are others that are additional specific to men. In common with ladies, the foremost necessary issue is unresolved distress and trauma, which is expressed in an eating disorder. But some groups appear to be at a larger risk:
o Men who are overweight, bullied or teased about their weight
o Participating in a very sport which demands a selected body shape, for instance athletes and jockeys are at the next risk
o A study dole out by the national charity Beat found twenty per cent of men with eating disorders are gay, making up twice the proportion of gay men in the population as a whole.
o Men working during a job or profession in that an idealised body image is very dominant. Male models, actors, and general entertainers seem to be at higher risk than the general population.
The treatment of men with eating disorders
Several eating disorders will be effectively treated without the requirement for admission to hospital or a specialist unit. Individuals with bulimia normally respond well to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and there is a programme of CBT for folks with eating disorders which is terribly well established and successful. People with anorexia and those with complex bulimia would like to be assessed and helped in a specialist treatment unit. Treatment will involve a programme of therapy, normally with a vital emphasis on family therapy if the patient is a teen and psychotherapy for adults, combined with nutritional support.
Author Resource:-
Charles Gray has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Eating Disorders, you can also check out latest website about
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