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Males with Eating Disorders

© Heather Mudgett.

If you review my previous articles, you'll see that I've written on this subject in the past. However, considering it continues to be a seriously underacknowledged issue, I will touch on it again.

One of my favorite pro eating-disorder recovery sites is Something-Fishy.Com. Here's just some of what they have to say about males with eating disorders: "It is estimated that 8 million people in the United States are suffering from an Eating Disorder, and of that number 10% are men. Personally, I am guessing that the percentage suffering that are men is far higher, but because of the old fashioned idea that this illness strikes only women, few men come forward to find the help they deserve. Right from it's inception, this whole site has always been aimed at addressing Eating Disorders in everyone, but there are some issues that are specific to the male community. As with all sufferers there has always been, and still is, an element of shame in being someone with an Eating Disorder ('I'm disgusting', 'look at what I do to myself', 'people will think I'm crazy', etc.), but for men and the old misconception that they cannot suffer from an Eating Disorder, the shame they face is often worse.... It is no uncommon for men suffering with an Eating Disorder to also suffer with alcoholism and/or drug abuse simultaneously (though many women also suffer both disordered eating and substance abuse problems combined). This may be due to the addictive nature of their psychological health combined with the strong images put out by society of men's overindulgence in alcohol. In addition, men suffering with Anorexia and Bulimia seem to have more sexual anxiety. There may also be a link between ADHD, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, with male sufferers of Anorexia and Bulimia and self-injury. More research needs to be done in this area. For all those who suffer, men and women, there are many possible co-existing psychological illnesses that can be present, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, self-injury behavior and substance abuse, obsessive compulsive disorder, and borderline personality disorder and multiple personality syndrome."

At Caringonline.com the subject of Males with Eating Disorders is also discussed. " Just like girls and women, boys and men get anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Many males describe themselves as compulsive eaters, and they may have binge eating disorder. There is no evidence to suggest that eating disorders in males are atypical or somehow different from the eating disorders experienced by females. How many males have eating disorders?