Eating Disorders that Affect Men

When most people thing about eating disorders they think that they only affect women. While cases that affect women occur about ninety percent of the time, ten percent of all reported and documented cases affect men.

What types of eating disorders do men get?

Men can have the same types of eating disorders as women. However the prevalence of such disorders as anorexia or bulimia only affects less than five percent of men. Disorders such as binge eating and night eating syndrome can affect about forty percent of men and the number of reported cases for these types is increasing.

What are the symptoms in men?

Symptoms of eating disorders in men are similar to those of women. Stresses, the inability to cope with feelings, relationships, acknowledge emotions and low self-esteem are quite common symptoms. Boys in puberty that are obese may also develop symptoms from being picked on from their peers about their weight.

Oftentimes in cases of men with eating disorders, the affected person will be overweight at some point. Men tend to go through cycles of being obese, to rapid weight loss, and then regaining weight until the cycle begins again.

What are some problems that men encounter with eating disorders?

Problems that men can develop is over-exercising and eating healthy foods. This is another type of eating disorder that can develop to replace the previous disorder. This is where the individual will exercise constantly and be very critical about what foods they consume. The affected person can actually develop obsessive-compulsive disorders because they are attempting to maintain their weight and body figure. While maintaining a healthy body is important, these affected individuals take it to the extreme.

What is the affected age of men with eating disorders?

Eating disorders can affect a wide age range in men from as young as nine and as old as sixty-five. However, most cases will develop during puberty and carry on into early adulthood. Men will often not report that they have an eating disorder. Rather they will attempt to deal with it on their own. As a result, the number of reported cases in men is so low.