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Eating Disorders In Men Underdiagnosed

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Behavioral & Mental Health
Health & Wellness
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Contributed byMaulik P. Purohit MD MPHApr 17, 2017

For many years, there has been a cultural misperception that eating disorders only affect women. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), an estimated 10-15 percent of Americans with eating disorders are male. New research from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom believe the numbers are likely to be higher, but poor recognition of symptoms of eating disorders in men causes this number to be so low.

Published in BMJ Open, the researchers questioned 39 individuals between the ages of 16 and 25 years. Ten of the individuals were men. All participants had suffered some type of eating condition (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa) and were asked about their experiences of the disorder. All of these men took months to even years to realize that these behaviors could be associated with eating disorders.

They found that men with an eating disorder were slow to identify anorexia symptoms -- no eating for days, purging, and obsessive calorie counting, exercise, and weighing -- because they thought eating disorders occurred was "something girls got," the researchers said.

Also, men with an eating disorder were slow to pursue professional help, because they did not know where to go or feared they would not be taken seriously.

When the some participants did seek help for their eating disorders, their experience was positive and they felt their doctor was helpful. However, many of the other men said they had to visit their physician numerous times before they were taken seriously.

The research team says, “Men with eating disorders are underdiagnosed, undertreated and under-researched. Our findings suggest that men may experience particular problems in recognizing that they may have an eating disorder as a result of the continuing cultural construction of eating disorders as uniquely or predominantly a female problem.”

The researchers discussed some limitations to their study. The participants were only between the ages 16 and 25. Therefore, the research does not provide an understanding of older men who have eating disorders. They believe more research needs to be conducted in this area.

Additional Resources:

The role of gendered constructions of eating disorders in delayed help-seeking in men: a qualitative interview study

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