Now this is interesting - Anorexia hitting men increasingly hard: One in three cases in new study is male

2013-01-21T18:18:53+00:00

Yet neither men themselves, nor most doctors, think of males as being at risk for these illnesses, experts say.

Community-based studies suggest one case in three of anorexia nervosa is a male, said Dr. Blake Woodside, director of the program for eating disorders at Toronto General Hospital. For bulimia, it is about one in four.

“And that’s a dramatic finding, because in clinical samples (based on people in treatment) it’s more like one in 15, or one in 20,” Woodside said.

1 in 3 people with anorexia are male and 1 in 4 people with bulimia are male, but only 1 in 15 people being treated for anorexia are male and 1 in 20 being treated for bulimia are male. That is ASTOUNDING! I hope the medical community really hounds in this point and makes awareness surrounding eating disorders for men.

theskepticalidealist · 2013-01-21T16:52:21+00:00

The sad thing is this won't be taken seriously, outside professional circles. "They arent real men, they dont have any reason to feel this way." Unlike women.

ekrej · 2013-01-21T16:56:28+00:00

As a woman who has struggled with anorexia and bulimia and has been in treatment a few times, I've definitely seen an increase in my experiences. The first time I was in treatment, there were no men. The last time I was in treatment, there were 3. Hearing their thoughts and struggles was definitely eye opening.

JockeVXO · 2013-01-21T20:16:13+00:00

So, yet another of these "women's issues" turns out not to be a women's issue but an issue shared by individuals of both sexes, just that the male ones have been ignored? I give you gynocentrism.

DefineThyne · 2013-01-21T16:53:29+00:00

That is interesting.

Although the title is a bit sensationalist / conflated, it does really raise good points about the ways society's gender conditioning impacts us. This is a stigma smörgasbord on pointing out the toxicity of traditional male stoicism, the nouveau of fitness-based image obsession as well as the denial of male victimhood.

2013-01-21T16:55:10+00:00

At least the article took it seriously.

Idiopathic77 · 2013-01-21T18:40:22+00:00

This has been on the rise for the last decade. Are people actually surprised? The current style tred for guys clothing is friggin skinny jeans for gods sake! The amount of suffering men go through right under societies nose is sickening. And no I do not think that without first blasting the entrenched feminists in our nations humanities departments both in university and research and treatment facilities, we will ever see men get proper treatment for these issues.

epilepticbicycle · 2013-01-21T22:58:42+00:00

From what I understand about anorexia and bulimia, they are often caused by some kind of psychological trauma. It's more along the lines of cutting, where a person who has been traumatized in some way seeks release in a behavior that is self-punishing. There is also a theory that some people engage in eating disorders because they can exercise control over their bodies even though they feel out of control within. I know this is not a good argument, but everyone (both men and women) I have ever known who has had an eating disorder grew up in an abusive household and carried around feelings of having undergone trauma.

That's not to say some people don't engage in these behaviors because they want to look good or look appropriate for an activity (like horse jockeying), I am sure it happens. At the same time, I think growing up in a household or working in a field where you are taught that your only value is your appearance or that you have NO innate value at all is a type of psychological trauma in itself. If you are a woman growing up with this kind of abuse you may gravitate toward trying to be as skinny as possible because that seems like a way to gain value, whereas traditionally men growing up with this kind of abuse may gravitate toward other types of self-harm like working out too much to the detriment of other aspects of their lives and steroid use. That seems like a good way to gain value if you are a man, right? There's also another path – bulimia – which doesn't change your physical appearance as quickly but allows you to punish yourself.

Now that fashion has leaned toward valuing skinny men, some men who have suffered this kind of abuse may lean less toward bulking up and more toward slimming down. Some women may lean more toward bulking up. Neither gender has ever been immune to the kind abuse that may trigger an eating disorder, they have just manifested their trauma in different ways. That difference is disappearing.

The fact that we generally discuss these disorders as stemming from a need to look attractive rather than as the manifestation of psychological trauma from abuse is probably detrimental to women suffering from them, and probably especially detrimental to men, who aren't "supposed to" care about their appearance as much as women.

If we want to get serious about helping both sexes to avoid or recover from these disorders, we need to work to end the abuses that both genders suffer and stop focusing on the physical manifestions of these disorders by talking about them as though they are completely about appearance. We also need to understand that both genders are at risk of being abused and developing feelings of trauma and are equally deserving of judgement-free compassion and treatment.

2013-01-21T21:10:46+00:00

Horse racing literally expects the mostly male jockeys to be anorexic and/or bulemic to keep to racing weight. I know at least one racetrack has a specially made toilet with kneepads and hand grips.

2013-01-22T04:04:15+00:00

My battle with anorexia (couldn't think of a less cliche term) is partly what lead me to the MR movement.

When I was seventeen, the high school nurse was the only person in my life who recognized my eating disorder (with the exception of my girlfriend but obviously she'd easily see the signs) even though I didn't ever visit her. She sent pamphlets to my house about anorexia and eating disorders, all referring to the sufferer as 'she,' 'her,' etc. and only females pictured.

When I finally decided to recover, no inpatient near me accepted males. Because of this, I was averse to visiting any therapist at all and recovered through my own gumption and willpower. Which I can only assume through experience is infinitely harder than for a person who received the help needed.

7wap · 2013-01-22T00:52:20+00:00

Wow, I'm shocked. Would someone explain why men would do this?

SuperUppercut · 2013-01-22T14:10:20+00:00

Look the Patriarchy harms men too!

2013-01-21T21:36:33+00:00

Why is it always the models fault?

Pecanpig · 2013-01-22T04:37:50+00:00

And you know what? I care just as little about this as I did when it was known as a women's disorder.

Torvaldr · 2013-01-21T21:04:51+00:00

I had anorexia in college because sometimes all I could afford to buy was ramen noodles and after a while that shit is abhorrent.

sizzletron · 2013-01-21T19:28:30+00:00

Fashion. What a joke.

Edit: 9 downvotes? Better clarify: Fashion is a joke. Better? I don't' care what anyone says. My comment doesn't deserve 9 downvotes.

Title	Now this is interesting - Anorexia hitting men increasingly hard: One in three cases in new study is male
Author	macman156
Upvotes	245
Comments	60
Date	January 21, 2013 4:27 PM UTC (13 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/mensrights/comments/16zt25/now-this-is-interesting-anorexia-hitting-men-/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/now-this-is-interesting-anorexia-hitting-men.1604566 https://theredarchive.com/post/1604566

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