Eating Disorders: They’re Not Just for Women Anymore

Chances are high that most college students know someone who is suffering from an eating disorder, even if they are unaware they know someone, especially since the number of individuals afflicted is on the rise.

The question remains: why?

One explanation for at least part of the spike is due to the changing face of eating disorders. Once believed to be a condition that primarily haunted women, more men are stepping into the spotlight to discuss their battle with eating disorders. Recent estimates suggest that one out of every four young males will struggle with an eating disorder.

In fact, eating disorders among men have become so common in the last decade that experts recently coined the term “manorexia” to describe the phenomenon. Not unlike anorexia and bulimia nervosa, manorexia places a heavy emphasis on extreme measures to losing weight, especially over-exercising and starvation. Unlike eating disorders in women, however, even health care professionals may be unaware that the male patient in front of them is suffering from a serious health issue.

“Doctors, just like anyone else, tend to see eating disorders as a woman’s illness,” said Sam Thomas, head of Men Getting Eating Disorders Too. “There seems to be an inbuilt belief a man presenting the same problems as a woman should be diagnosed as depressed, not anorexic.”

The ambivalent attitude of clinical professionals has a contextual basis. The “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” the tome for identifying and diagnosing mental illnesses, still includes “loss of menstrual cycle for menstrual women,” as a criteria for anorexia. The inclusion of a strictly female symptom suggests an ingrained, clinical belief that eating disorders are uniquely a feminine ailment. The appearance of eating disorder symptoms in males are often completely confounding to doctors, who may not be aware of what they’re seeing in male patients seeking help.

Many advocates believe that one the root causes of eating disorders are addressed, fewer men will remain in silence about their struggles with eating disorders.

Last Tuesday, The Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Eating Disorder Sections, based in the United Kingdom, launched an international campaign to challenge media ethical standards regarding the presentation of ideal bodies in broadcast and print. Adrienne Key, a consulting psychiatrist and member of the group, asserted that a growing body of evidence linked the development of eating disorder symptoms with the media.

It’s not an altogether laughable assertion. Earlier this year, a Ralph Lauren ad depicting a dangerously-thin Filippa Hamilton caused serious internet brouhaha due to Hamilton’s digitally-altered, skeletal state. While Ralph Lauren criticized the “poor editing,” they later fired Hamilton, in a move largely rumored to be due to the 5′10, 120-pound model being “too fat.” Model Kate Moss, who pioneered “heroin chic” during the early 90’s, weighed in on the controversy, explaining that models rely on mottos such as “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.” For those playing at home, Moss isn’t looking too healthy these days herself, yet has experience a resurgence of her popularity following a cocaine bust from a few years back. If Holocaust chic is the new standard for thinness, it’s no wonder even relatively healthy people are being lulled into the belief that they are overweight.

Indeed, one only needs to pick up a tabloid magazine to discover which star is dieting this week, which celebrity is hocking a new weight loss product, or failing to look smoking hot in the yellow polka dot bikini. Knowing the number of stars, from Elisa Donovan to Katharine McPhee, who have successfully “recovered” is often a mixed bag. These stars may have owned their struggles, but they are still incredibly thin and, arguably, underweight.

The depiction of the media has also handled males one of their best smoke screens to distracting from their eating disorders. Many men with eating disorders are mistakenly diagnosed with alcoholism due to their tendency to binge-drink. While substance abuse and eating disorders have often gone hand-in-hand (and many advocates of eating disorders insisting that they should be viewed more like an addiction and less like a pathological condition) drunkorexia, serves the dual purpose of allowing males to drink to the point of inducing vomiting, and trade off the calories of food with liquor instead. Because of the promotion of drinking in the college culture, binge drinking can keep otherwise suspicious students guessing about what’s really going on with their peers.

Men have slightly better role models. Both Elton John and parody master Cledus T. Judd have discussed their battles with eating disorders, and while Judd has subsequently made appearances on the show “Celebrity Fit Club,” both men retain a healthy body size. While they are recovery, they are not emaciated waifs and often encourage healthy body image when discussing their own experiences.

Despite this, most men are still staying mum about their need for help. While there are more men seeking treatment, the number is strikingly disproportionate the actual number of men with eating disorders. Part of it is due to the stigma; on the whole, men are less likely to reach out for help with mental illness of any caliber than their female counterparts. And part of it is simply due to the world of treatment not yet catching up with the world of technology; few eating disorder hospitals are equipped  to treat men as well as women.

Until societal attitudes towards males with eating disorders change, the lacking status quo isn’t likely to find the motivation to change. But men, quickly becoming the fastest-growing demographic of individuals with eating disorders, will not seek access to treatment if there are ultimately no services available to them.