Eating Disorders on the rise in men?!

[Galuf the Dwarf]

My mother pointed me to this official health news article on the internet today. What has gotten men so concerned with their physical appearance? Though it's likely still small, could it change how men are percieved in the future?

Me, I am a man who was thin to begin with, and am very trim as of these days. However, I do put my diet and build into some consideration.

Since I am preparing for my last amount of final exams today, I'll post the link later. My mother found the article, so I'll have to get the link from her first, and she's busy in the garden.

[dragon wench]

Was it this one? http://www.ajc.com/health/content/he...disorders.html

Regardless...while unsurprising... disturbing indeed....

[Galuf the Dwarf]

Quote:

Originally posted by dragon wench Was it this one? http://www.ajc.com/health/content/he...disorders.html Regardless...while unsurprising... disturbing indeed....

No, it wasn't that one, but that may just about cover it for now.

If you and the other's don't mind, I'll still try to find the link later. My time's going to be a tad limited.

[dragon wench]

Then perhaps you should have waited until you had the link before posting the thread Though, no worries, I should be spending my time working anyway...

[Moonbiter]

It's been in the media over here a lot, lately. As we're adopting the general western culture's problem of debilitating weight-increase, we're also getting numerous problems riding alongside. One of the most remarkable at the moment is that men are getting dietary ailments at an accelerating rate. To be perfectly honest, I can't help feeling it's a bit deserved. We sort of dig our own graves on this. Obesity is the prime health hazzard of our age, and it's a social and mental disease that we've created ourself, alongside our somewhat twisted views on what beauty is. Earlier you had teenage girls hurling their dinner to look like Britney Spears, now you have grown men doing the same thing not only because they wanna look like Brad Pitt, but because their doctors have made painfully clear that sitting on your hindquarters getting love-handles will give you heart disease and other lethal ailments before the age og 50. I know a bit about this.

[VonDondu]

I don't have hard statistical data (for reasons which are self-explanatory), but here are my own observations.

First of all, most people don't pay as much attention to men's appearance as they do to women's, especially not their weight. If a man is underweight, most people don't give it a second thought. (Weight problems in men also bring less condemnation than weight problems in women.)

Second of all, attitudes change. This is noticeable even in the health profession. For example, child "experts" used to say "spank your kids", but now they say "don't spank your kids". Obviously, we should trust everything they say. Being underweight was considered to be healthy by a lot of health professionals at one time (and maybe it still is), and the only "eating disorder" they recognized was eating too much. My grandmother began suffering from bulimia about 75 years ago before anyone even knew what bulimia was. In the last twenty years or so there has been a shift in focus to other kinds of "eating disorders", especially anorexia and bulimia. As a result, those disorders are being diagnosed at an increasing rate, which creates the appearance that there are more cases than there used to be. Undiagnosed cases don't count.

Furthermore, as a result of sensationalism in the media (the only sure way to get the public's attention), there has been a concomitant increase in public awareness of eating disorders. People didn't used to pay much attention to eating disorders before (except for overeating), but now it's part of their awareness. Now that people are paying more attention to eating disorders, they notice more cases of eating disorders.

In light of the fact that people have different perceptions of men than they do of women, I submit that even after the public became aware of a disorder such as anorexia, they only saw the problem in women, not in men, even though men can suffer from it as well. People didn't notice anorexia in men, so it didn't exist. Now that people are aware that men can suffer from anorexia, there seem to be a lot more cases in men.

Of course, I realize that a lot of mothers are concerned that their children (especially their little boys) are not eating enough, but I think that belongs in a different category of perception, since it applies only to their children, not to everyone in general.

Keep in mind that eating disorders are pretty rare. You've probably seen a few women who suffer from it. Depending on where you spend your time (for example, if you hang out around a modeling school), you might have seen quite a few. But I've also seen a few men who clearly suffer from anorexia. My first thought isn't that they can't afford to eat better; my first thought is, that's how they want to look because it fits their body image. It's difficult for me to imagine that they feel pressured by anyone to look that way, but body image lies at the heart of anorexia.

I have to admit that, with my limited imagination, I have trouble picturing hordes of men suffering from bulimia. Bulimia just seems more like primarily a "women's disease" to me because of my own perceptions. For example, I've never seen a man use the "gagging" gesture (i.e., pointing the index finger towards the back of the throat), but I see women use it all the time.

On the other hand, the people I know who have the worst eating habits are men. For example, I know a man who is very underweight because he eats so poorly. He doesn't suffer from anorexia, since body image is not the root of his problem; he himself is worried about being underweight. He does have the attitude that most people eat too much, but that's only because he is able to get by on so little, and his own eating habits have skewed his perception of other people's eating habits. I think the main problem is that he smokes, which ruins his appetite and gives him the feeling that his body is being "sustained". And of course, smokers are crazy, anyway. This man suffers from emphysema caused by smoking, but he tries to deal with it by using asthma inhalers, avoiding fresh air ("too much pollen"), and smoking more cigarettes to clear his lungs. Like I said, crazy. But anyway, his diet typically consists of a Dr. Pepper and a cigarette for breakfast, several more cigarettes in the morning, a Dr. Pepper and a candy bar for lunch, more cigarettes in the afternoon, a Dr. Pepper and half a steak for dinner (he won't eat it all), and lots of cigarettes in the evening and a couple more at night. He ignores me or looks at me like I'm crazy when I encourage his 10-year-old son, who hates everything but McDonalds and junk food, to eat more vegetables. But parents always know what's best for their kids.

Right, Galuf?

[Galuf the Dwarf]

Quote:

Originally posted by VonDondu I don't have hard statistical data (for reasons which are self-explanatory), but here are my own observations. First of all, most people don't pay as much attention to men's appearance as they do to women's, especially not their weight. If a man is underweight, most people don't give it a second thought. (Weight problems in men also bring less condemnation than weight problems in women.) Second of all, attitudes change. This is noticeable even in the health profession. For example, child "experts" used to say "spank your kids", but now they say "don't spank your kids". Obviously, we should trust everything they say. Being underweight was considered to be healthy by a lot of health professionals at one time (and maybe it still is), and the only "eating disorder" they recognized was eating too much. My grandmother began suffering from bulimia about 75 years ago before anyone even knew what bulimia was. In the last twenty years or so there has been a shift in focus to other kinds of "eating disorders", especially anorexia and bulimia. As a result, those disorders are being diagnosed at an increasing rate, which creates the appearance that there are more cases then there used to be. Undiagnosed cases don't count. Furthermore, as a result of sensationalism in the media (the only sure way to get the public's attention), there has been a concomitant increase in public awareness of eating disorders. People didn't used to pay much attention to eating disorders before (except for overeating), but now it's part of their awareness. Now that people are paying more attention to eating disorders, they notice more cases of eating disorders. In light of the fact that people have different perceptions of men than they do of women, I submit that even after the public became aware of a disorder such as anorexia, they only saw the problem in women, not in men, even though men can suffer from it as well. People didn't notice anorexia in men, so it didn't exist. Now that people are aware that men can suffer from anorexia, there seem to be a lot more cases in men. Of course, I realize that a lot of mothers are concerned that their children (especially their little boys) are not eating enough, but I think that belongs in a different category of perception, since it applies only to their children, not to everyone in general. Keep in mind that eating disorders are pretty rare. You've probably seen a few women who suffer from it. Depending on where you spend your time (for example, if you hang out around a modeling school), you might have seen quite a few. But I've also seen a few men who clearlu suffer from anorexia. My first thought isn't that they can't afford to eat better; my first thought is, that's how they want to look because it fits their body image. It's difficult for me to imagine that they feel pressured by anyone to look that way, but body image lies at the heart of anorexia. I have to admit that, with my limited imagination, I have trouble picturing hordes of men suffering from bulimia. Bulimia just seems more like primarily a "women's disease" to me because of my own perceptions. For example, I've never seen a man use the "gagging" gesture (i.e., pointing the index figure towards the back of the throat), but I see women use it all the time. On the other hand, the people I know who have the worst eating habits are men. For example, I know a man who is very underweight because he eats so poorly. He doesn't suffer from anorexia, since body image is not the root of his problem; he himself is worried about being underweight. He does have the attitude that most people eat too much, but that's only because he is able to get by on so little, and his own eating habits have skewed his perception of other people's eating habits. I think the main problem is that he smokes, which ruins his appetite and gives him the feeling that his body is being "sustained". And of course, smokers are crazy, anyway. This man suffers from emphysema caused by smoking, but he tries to deal with it by using asthma inhalers, avoiding fresh air ("too much pollen"), and smoking more cigarettes to clear his lungs. Like I said, crazy. But anyway, his diet typically consists of a Dr. Pepper and a cigarette for breakfast, several more cigarettes in the morning, a Dr. Pepper and a candy bar for lunch, more cigarettes in the afternoon, a Dr. Pepper and half a steak for dinner (he won't eat it all), and lots of cigarettes in the evening and a couple more at night. He ignores me or looks at me like I'm crazy when I encourage his 10-year-old son, who hates everything but McDonalds and junk food, to eat more vegetables. But parents always know what's best for their kids. Right, Galuf?

Well, yeah. Still, whether the glass (physically for drinking or the one of cliche) is half full or half empty is very subjective. Whether the full grasp of the problem in ANYONE is attained, it is hard to say.

[Saro]

this is from my experiences. i don't have an eating disorder but if you saw me you would think i do, i am about 5'10'' and weight 110 pounds. i am also a male, my problem is i have a really fast metabolism. i just never gain weight. i hate being thin, and i am not sure but i think i am the only person in the world that wants to be fat one. well i don't want to be fat but the healthy middle ground between being overweight and underweight. i am not sure but there are probably same number of problems for an underweight person as there is for an overweight person.
I wish i still knew the medical name for it but you lung can just collapsed from being to thin bubbles form on the lungs and your rib can rub against the bubbles and burst them causing your lung to collapsed. This happened to me last summer. i never heard of it before it happened to me, but that was because that can only happen in tall thin males between 20 and 40. and if you left lung collapses if will fall on your heart and if you don't get help in about 24 hours you could have a heart attack. i just want to post that to hopefully scare/warn any males about being being to thin on the boards. probably won't work but know that can happen just help a little

i guess my point is they list all the negatives with being overweight but they never really say the negatives of being underweight.

new to the forums still figuring stuff out
Saro

[C Elegans]

Quote:

Originally posted by VonDondu I don't have hard statistical data (for reasons which are self-explanatory

That's why I am here! Abstract (ie summary) from a recent Norwegian study:

Prevalence of eating disorders in female and male adolescents (14-15 years).
Eat Behav. 2004 Jan;5(1):13-25.
Kjelsas E, Bjornstrom C, Gotestam KG.
Department of Neuroscience, Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), MTFS, NO-7489 Trondheim, Norway.

OBJECTIVE: The main aim of the present study is to establish the prevalence of eating disorders (ED) in adolescents of both genders. To our knowledge, such data have not previously been published using both DSM-IV and DSM-III-R criteria. METHOD: The study sample consisted of 1960 adolescents (1026 girls and 934 boys), 14-15 years of age. The participants completed the Survey for Eating Disorders (SEDs), including DSM-III-R and DSM-IV diagnoses for all subcategories of ED. RESULTS: Lifetime prevalence of any ED among girls was 17.9% anorexia nervosa (AN) 0.7%, bulimia nervosa (BN) 1.2%, binge eating disorder (BED) 1.5%, and EDs not otherwise specified (EDNOS) 14.6%. Corresponding numbers for boys for any ED is 6.5%, AN 0.2%, BN 0.4%, BED 0.9%, and EDNOS 5.0%. DISCUSSION: Our prevalence rates on AN, BN, and BED largely support previous school/community-based studies, while our figures on EDNOS were rather high. Generally, we found high numbers for boys with ED.

Quote:

quote from the article "Studies have suggested that approximately 10% of individuals who present with AN and BN and 25% of those presenting BED are men [American Psychiatric Association, 1994 and Fairburn & Beglin, 1990]. Furthermore, EDs may be increasing among young men in Western society [Andersen, 1990, Carlat et al., 1997 and O'Dea & Abraham, 2002]. Studies of adolescents have found that although boys report less body dissatisfaction than girls do, significant numbers of boys (5–20%) report restrained eating, vomiting, laxative abuse, or smoking cigarettes for weight control [O'Dea & Abraham, 1996, Wertheim et al., 1992 and Worsley et al., 1990].

AN=Anorexia nervosa
BN=Bulimia nervosa
BED=Binge eating disorder

Quote:

by Vondondu Keep in mind that eating disorders are pretty rare. You've probably seen a few women who suffer from it. Depending on where you spend your time (for example, if you hang out around a modeling school), you might have seen quite a few. But I've also seen a few men who clearly suffer from anorexia. My first thought isn't that they can't afford to eat better; my first thought is, that's how they want to look because it fits their body image. It's difficult for me to imagine that they feel pressured by anyone to look that way, but body image lies at the heart of anorexia.

Not so rare, I think - current incidence is reported to be around 3% for BN, 0.5-1% for AN. Add to this about 5% BED. Furthermore, studies of college children and college students report:

Quote:

Earlier questionnaire studies have found about 20% of girls from 7 years [Edlund et al., 1996] and 40–80% of older girls 12–16 years [Gresko & Rosenvinge, 1998] reporting dieting behaviors and ED attitudes. [Heatherton et al., 1995] have referred to high numbers of regular binge eating (women 19%, men 6%) and regular fasting (women 12.4%, men 3%) in college students.

ED-attitudes=eating disorder attitudes, ie believing you are fat although you have normal weight or is underweigth, worring a lot about your weight and what you eat, classifying food into "forbidden" and "allowed" food depending on how fat you believe you are going to be if you eat the "forbidden" food, feeling guilt, the need to exercise or an urge to vomit when you have been "forbidden" food, etc

Quote:

by Vondondu I have to admit that, with my limited imagination, I have trouble picturing hordes of men suffering from bulimia. Bulimia just seems more like primarily a "women's disease" to me because of my own perceptions.

All eating disorders are more common among women than men, but it seems men are catching up. Comparing prevalence studies from 1994 and 1995 with studies done during the last 2-3 years, the ratio of men has indeed increased. In the Norwegian study, the ratio between men and women for any ED was 1:2.8. For AN it was 1:3.5, BN 1:2 and BED 1:1.7.

Another study (D. Woodside, P.E. Garfinkel, E. Lin, P. Goering, A.S. Kaplan, D.S. Goldbloom and S.H. Kennedy. Comparisons of men with full or partial eating disorders, men without eating disorders, and women with eating disorders in the community. American Journal of Psychiatry 158 (2001), pp. 570–574. ) that looked on full AN and BN as well as partial symptoms, reported gender ration men:women 1:1.8 for partial AN and 1:1.5 for partial BN.

For all of you who didn't care to read all the figues, in summary:
Eating disorders are farily common in the Western culture, and studies support the view that they are increasing among men. and yes I am posting this because I am at the lab writing an extremly boring application for grants, and one even more boring application to the Research Ethic's committe

[InfiniteNature]

I think people should just stop eating so much.

That or make stapling their mouths closed mandatory.

Or just exercise enough that it doesn't matter how much you eat.

Or go on the Ethiopian starvation diet, which appears to be the fad most women are going (Yes you too can look like a young starving Ethiopian child).

Geez its really really sad that people complain about obesity when most people in the world can't even get a fraction of the food, how about this lets put fat americans on rations and send the excess food somewhere else.

Sickens me to see complaints about buliumia or anorexia, when all it really is a psychological solution, vs. a real solution in other countries.

I mean geez its not so hard to figure out, women are conditioned to believe they should have starving Ethiopian figures, whereas guys should ideally have big Arnold chests with overexcessive agression complexes. The why is fairly simple, they educate you all to be very stupid consumers of products, of one type or another. They educate you to be on the one hand, supremely thin in the case of women (and thus consume large quantities of diet products), on the other side of the spectrum they show you big muscular types consuming huge quantities of junk food, and never getting fat.

Gee I wonder if they actually advertised real consequences for eating lots of junk food, people might be less inclined to eat their products and thus be overall healthier.

Another reason why obesity is a problem is that people don't have the time or money to be healthy. For the average person they work hard during the day, come home tired, eat junk food for their dinner, this mainly because junk food is cheap vs. healthy food, and maybe they also drink some nice diet shake, which miraculously is also cheap vs. real healthy food.

All of it comes down to one pschological reason, would healthy happy citizens be profitable consumers, I think the answer would be no. They wouldn't sell as many products, as many cosmetics, diet food, junk food, nonuseful pharmaceutical behavior modification drugs, nor even watch as many hours of television, and thus get brainwashed into buying more products, which supposably will make them all healthier happier, but in reality really doesn't; nor would they buy as many cars, trucks, electronic memorabilia, and everthing that comes with the whole mess.

I submit to you that our society runs on misery, simply because it is more profitable then making people genuinely happier and healthier, and that the whole bulimia vs. anorexia, and obesity issue will not be solved until people actually are happy, genuinely so.

[Xandax]

Quote:

Originally posted by InfiniteNature -snip- For the average person they work hard during the day, come home tired, eat junk food for their dinner, this mainly because junk food is cheap vs. healthy food, and maybe they also drink some nice diet shake, which miraculously is also cheap vs. real healthy food. -snip-

Well- can't say generally, but in Denmark I don't really see Junk food as being cheap.
It is just much faster to "prepare" then healthy food, which also fits nicely into your statement