Men and Eating Disorders is a topic that does not draw much attention. There are 8 million people that suffer from eating disorders in the United States; 1 million are men. Twenty years ago in Drug Rehab we saw similar numbers but with men being the majority and the women being the minority. Eating Disorders are not gender specific just as both genders are susceptible to problems of addiction.
Eating Disorders in men usually occur in the teen years but cases have been reported in boys as young 8 years old and older men in their 50’s and 60’s. Both men and women may suffer both medically and psychologically throughout their life and 9 percent of chronic cases lead to death. There are many reasons why men go untreated with this disease. Society has perpetuated the myth that eating disorders are a disease of affluent white women; nothing could be further from the truth. Often, a male ego just won’t allow him to admit to having what is seen as a female disease. Doctors and others in the medical profession just don’t associate the symptoms in men as they do with women.
Those men that do seek eating disorder treatment are prone to relapse because they find it uncomfortable to attend support groups where they are the only male participant. Men will often use exercise to control their weight ignoring the mental aspect of their disease. When a professional has the opportunity to address and treat the depression and a patient continues outpatient sessions men can be successful in returning to normal eating.