Men Don’t Get Eating Disorders, Do They?

When most people think of eating disorders, they picture the deliberately shocking pictures of emaciated girls or women with severe anorexia and may mistakenly assume that this is always how an eating disorder might look. The truth is, only a small percentage of people with an eating disorder fit this stereotype. Eating disorders in fact live within people of all shapes and sizes. Further, while it is often assumed that only women or those that identify as female will suffer from an eating disorder, this is in fact far from the truth. Sadly, men are more and more often subjected to appearance ideals and therefore seek to change their appearance through the manipulation of their food intake. As such, more and more men are presenting with eating disorders, and we suspect many more men suffer in silence due to gendered stereotypes and the assumptions that eating disorders are always coupled with a much smaller body.  

How common is it for men to have an eating disorder?

Across their lives, approximately 2.58% of women may experience an eating disorder compared to 0.74% of men. However, as indicated above, we believe the percentage for men with an eating disorder is likely higher than 0.74%.

So, how do we get better at recognising eating disorders in boys and men? Firstly there is the universal truth that we cannot accurately determine someone’s health, or likelihood of having an eating disorder, simply by looking at them. We must listen keenly to the behaviours and concerns every individual shares. It is important to be aware that some key differences exist in the way eating disorders most commonly present in men. Often age of onset is later, with eating disorder symptomology often occurring in late adolescence or well into adulthood. Secondly, the type of body that is lorded as “ideally masculine” is quite different to the idealised feminine form, and as such behaviours and goals of the eating disorder may look different too. For example, rather than restricting energy full stop, a young man with an eating disorder may instead be counting how much protein they are consuming and spending long hours at the gym.

What are some symptoms of an eating disorder among men?

Eating disorder symptoms in men are often geared towards achieving the muscular body image goal. This is not to say that eating disorders in men and women do not share similarities. Regardless of gender, eating disorders may involve restricting food, binge eating, and compensatory behaviour. Still, there may be subtle differences within these.

• Restriction of food

One symptom of eating disorders is restricting food intake. This may involve skipping meals, cutting out particular food groups, only eating foods with low calories, or eating a low quantity of food per meal. For women, this restriction may be to achieve the goal of reducing their weight and creating a slim appearance. In contrast, for men, this behaviour is often geared towards optimising the appearance of muscles. As such, it is less common to see extremely low levels of food intake and so men with an eating disorder are less likely to appear incredibly thin. Instead, it is more common to only eat low-calorie and high-protein foods because these help muscle growth. This being said, it is also important to remember that this is not the only way eating disorders present in those that identify as male. Men can have anorexia and bulimia too, and symptoms may in fact look very similar to the more stereotypical ideas we have about eating disorders and disordered eating.

• Binge eating

Binge eating refers to eating objectively large amounts of food to the point where the person is uncomfortably full. There is research that shows women prefer sweets or desserts when binge eating. Instead, binge eating among men is more likely to involve eating high-fat and high-protein foods such as burgers. Also, men may experience less distress during and after these binge eating episodes than women. This may be because some online resources promote the misconception that an occasional binge, or “cheat meal”, can help achieve a muscular body. Depending on how rule bound a young mans eating disorder is, there may also be high levels of distress reported, both with objective binges and with more subjective binges which involve eating a normal amount of food that is forbidden by their eating disorders rules.

• Compensatory behaviour

Compensartory behaviours are behaviours that a person may use to compensate for eating. Some behaviours include vomiting or using laxatives to remove food from the body. Another example is excessive amounts of exercise. Excessive exercise is a common part of the development and maintenance of an eating disorder in many people. The types of exercise engaged in however may differ between men and women, with men often focussing on muscle building exercises such as lifting weights. Running, cycling, and other forms of cardio that use a lot of energy may also be used to compensate for, or “earn” food. Indeed, the desire to exercise excessively appears to be one of the more central symptoms in men with an eating disorder.

So, what do we know?

1.      Eating disorders do not only affect women.

2.      Men may experience eating disorders differently from women.

Overall, there are a variety of experiences of eating disorders. It is not a “female disorder” and instead can affect any and all genders. However, we do not mean to imply that all males and no females with an eating disorder desire a muscular appearance. It is just, on average, that research shows us this pattern. But the research is still new and developing!  

So, regardless of gender, if these symptoms apply to you, please do not hesitate to reach out to your doctor or our team to discuss treatment options!

Authors: Annabelle Welch