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Just like girls and women, boys and men develop eating disorders.
And the numbers are increasing. More and more men are feeling
the pressure to be thin and look good and want to change their
bodies to be more "perfect."
The stereotypical anorexic, bulimic,
and binge eater is female. This stereotype is a myth.
"All my friends had a girlfriend - except for me. I
became lonely and depressed and started to use alcohol and
food to fill that awful feeling of emptiness inside of me."
Males often begin an eating disorder at older ages than
females do, and they more often have a history of obesity
or overweight.
It is no uncommon for men suffering with an eating disorder
to also struggle with alcoholism and/or drug abuse at the
same time (though many women also suffer both disordered
eating and substance abuse problems combined)
Binge eating disorder seems to occur almost equally in
males and females, although males are not as likely to feel
guilty or anxious after a binge as women are sure to do.
Eating-disordered males differed significantly from eating-disordered
females in terms of sexual experience in a study conducted
by Herzog et al. (1984). Males with eating disorders were
significantly less likely to have had sexual relations before
the onset of their eating disorder, or to be involved in
a sexual relationship at the time of evaluation than were
females with eating disorders. Males with bulimia, however,
appear to be more sexually active than males with anorexia,
both premorbidly and at the time of their illness (Pope
et al., 1986).
The
most important thing to remember isthat most of the underlying psychological
factors that lead to an eating disorder are the same for both, men and women.
Low self-esteem, a need to be accepted, depression, anxiety or other existing
psychological illness, and an inability to cope with emotions and personal issues.
All of the physical dangers and complications associated with having an eating
disorder are the same.
The same kind of help is provided for both, men and women,
but often men feel uncomfortable using them. They are ashamed
by their behaviour and feel unmanly because the have a "women's
disorder". When a man finds the courage to enter a
treatment program, he may be the only male in a group of
women.
An estimated 10 of individuals with anorexia and bulimia
are male. Girls and women are 10 times more likely than
boys and men to suffer from an eating disorder.
About 20% of men with eating disorders are reported to
be homosexual. Despite controversy on the topic of gays
with eating disorders, there has, in fact, been no proven
relationship between homosexuality and eating disorders.
About 50% of people with Binge Eating Disorder are males.
There are
many female celebrities who have come out into the open with their eating disorder
struggles, but there are only a few male celebrities coming forward and going
public about their struggles with an eating disorder.
The following men are very courageous
to talk about their eating disorder and I'd like to thank them for their
honesty, courage and openness.
Silverchair lead singer Daniel Johns suffered from
an eating disorder and went public about his struggles with
anorexia. In the song "Ana's Song" (from Neon Ballroom
album), Daniel talks about his experience with an eating disorder.
Elton John has gone public about his struggles with
disordered eating.
Actor Billy Bob Thornton
has been open about his weight issues and went public with his struggles with
anorexia.
Actor Dennis Quaid spoke out about his battle with anorexia
in the mid-1990s which he developed because he had to lose some weight for a role
in a movie. "My arms were so skinny that I couldn't pull myself out of a pool.
... For many years, I was obsessed about what I was eating, how many calories
it had, and how much exercise I'd have to do."
Actor Matthew Perry (Friends) was battling an eating
disorder in the past.
Musician Richey James
struggled with anorexia.
Former Coronation Street actor Adam Rickitt
struggled with bulimia at the age of 16. "I was frightened and doing
my best to keep it a secret." "I used food to escape depression. After just 5
months, my bulimia had taken over my life. My weight had plummeted, I looked absolutely
awful. I constantly wore a scarf to try and cover up my gaunt face."
Fitness
and diet guru Richard Simmons suffered from an eating disorder in the past.
Singer and actor Adam Ant (one of the most charismatic and revolutionary
pop stars of the 1980s) struggled with manic depression, battled anorexia and
had suicidal tendencies.
Poet Franz Kafka, who wrote the short story "The
Hunger Artist", suffered from anorexia.
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