Men

Eating disorders are generally thought of as a ‘female’ only illness but this is not the case. At the 10-25% of all sufferers are males. This however is an understatement of the actual figures as most men face difficulties in getting help, as there is a lot of stigma attached to the subject.

 

Men can get an eating disorder at any given age although most cases fell into the 14-25 age range. There has been little research into the field of the risks that men face that suffer from an eating disorder but most of the risk factors that apply to women will also apply to men.

 

There can be many reasons why men can develop an eating disorder. One of the most common reasons is the pressure of modern society for a man to have the ‘perfect’ body, which is to have a muscular body type complete with six-pack or to have the body of the next David Beckham or Daniel Craig.

 

Some, but not all, male sufferers can also be gay or bisexual and there is a debate over why that is. One view is expressed that it is to do with the fact that there is a greater pressure for physical attractiveness in this community much in the same likeness of what women will face in the heterosexual community. Another view is that fear of rejection over the persons coming out causes an eating disorder to develop. The eating Disorder Association carried out a survey, which showed that 20% of all men affected by eating disorders are gay or bisexual. This makes it proportional to twice the amount of gay men in the country.