Are there any guys with eating disorders?

[Evermore]

I was just thinking the other day that I've never seen a guy with an eating disorder. Why is this? Why is it that only women feel they need to be skinny?

[ShatteredWings]

That's a really common misconseption.

Males can have an ED too.

True, there is less preasure from society for them to be thin, and to fit the 'ideal' of beauty, but that's not what an eating disorer is really.

ANYONE can feel out of control, ANYONE can have body image problems, so anyone can suffer from an eating disorder.

[Evermore]

So they're are guys out there that are bulimic?

[ShatteredWings]

Yes.

But you won't find too many who talk about it. Partly beause yes, it is less common in guys, but also because that's a huge kick to the balls to admit you've got a problem that's always associated with "girls being obsessive and stupid about their weight"

[Obscene Eyedeas]

Yes guys do get eating disorders my friend has one. he is much less verbal about ht then any of the girls i know with one because he said it made him feel ashamed and a failure as a guy.

[Evermore]

Ahh, that explains it. Thanks guys.

[Marcie]

So they're are guys out there that are bulimic?

I know one that is.

[Asylum]

my one guy friend has an ED

[BeautifulDisaster]

ED's are NOT about "wanting to be skinny".

&
"It is estimated that 8 million people in the United States are suffering from an Eating Disorder, and of that number 10% are men. Personally, I am guessing that the percentage suffering that are men is far higher, but because of the old fashioned idea that this illness strikes only women, few men come forward to find the help they deserve. "

Taken from http://www.something-fishy.org/cultural/issuesformen.php

[Jess]

Guys can have eating disorders too.

[CuriousDestruction]

all the time actually. although maybe 95% of all people with eating disorders are women, guys make up that other 5%, rather than aliens as some would have you believe. also another trend with guys and ED is that they tend to over-eating, rather than not eating enough. often guys try to bulk up, and end up screwing over their diet.

[Centrist]

I actually take ADD medicine that kills my appetite. Whenever I feel that I'm too big or have too much weight, I'll take my meds when I don't even need them for that day just so I don't feel the need to eat.

[Sapphire]

Anyone can develop an eating disorder.

http://www.b-eat.co.uk/YoungPeople/WhatisanEatingDisorder/Boysandeatingdisorders
http://www.caringonline.com/eatdis/topics/males.htm
http://www.boyanorexia.com/

[Mattasaur94]

Well...
My parents think I have an ED... But I know I don't, hopefully, because I'm in controll of myself. It's just some weeks food makes me feel absolutely sick, so I won't eat it, and other weeks I won't stop eating, I also like the feeling of throwing up, weird, inoright?

But yea, guys can have an ED, it's just most guys are less verbal about it, or any disorder. I personally hate telling people I'm sick, if I'm really sick I won't talk about it at all. I'm not sure why, I suppose it makes me feel weak. *shrug*

So yea, an ED isn't bound to a specific sex, it's just a matter of the media's descrimination and how society views things, currently, alot of women are targetted, making it more noticable if they have an ED.

[cadaverous_roots]

Yeah, I have a friend who i met in treatment who is a guy with an ED. Girls are not the only ones approx 10-25% of people with EDs are guys

[1_21Guns]

I think quite a few guy's probably do have an ED, its just guys tend to be less open about whats going on in thier head and thier lives. So people often assume they don't get them.

[Ryhanna]

Theres plenty of guys with eating disorders.
In fact, I may even have one. Not too sure...
I don't eat at school, like ever. I only eat at home.

[Scarface]

there are plenty of men out there with eating disorders. um i happen to be one of them

[BeautifulDisaster]

Cada, that percentage isn't accurate, I think it's 5%, maybe 10% at most.

To those who've posted & suspect they've an ED;
If you think you have an ED, see a professional.
An ED is much more than just not eating/restricting, you need to explore deeper into the cause(s) of the behaviors, & you need to see someone about it.

[overcome.]

I'm not saying I have an eating disorder, because I don't. It comes down to the same thing, wanting to look the way that your head tells you that you need to look. I'm a little obsessive over my food, and I know many people who are the same way. They're people I'm associated with, mostly males who partake in the same lifestyles in regards to nutrition. I feel much happier when I eat, as opposed to when I don't eat. It is something that does screw with my mind if I don't make sure I look the best I can.

I do agree in the statement that it's mostly women, purely because there's larger amounts of pressure for women to be thinner, because in society it's 'beautiful' or acceptable. Generally speaking, girls/women can look at a magazine and see a model, who isn't actually modelling ideal health. A young man can pick up a magazine and see a male model on the front, ripped with very low bodyfat with a physique that has taken years to sculpt and want to look that way. Both goals take a lot of time and effort to obtain, but you want to do it because society looks upon those kind of bodies as beautiful, or good looking.

Of course from that, when you wish to alter your physique, in theory, pretty much half of that is down to your nutrition. I'm sure that's where ED's develop.

[BeautifulDisaster]

overcome., ED's are not all about being thin, it goes a lot deeper than that, it could have developed due to sexual abuse/molest/rape, it could have developed due to trauma, it could develop due to grief, it could develop due to needing control in one's life, it could develop due to bullying, it could develop due to abuse/neglect, there are dozens of reasons why it can develop & I personally don't think they commonly develop due to magazines/models/wanting to be thin, it can do, however, I think the other reasons I've stated are much more likely, and even if it does develop due to wanting to be thin, there are more than likely to be deeper root causes than that.

[Sapphire]

overcome., ED's are not all about being thin, it goes a lot deeper than that, it could have developed due to sexual abuse/molest/rape, it could have developed due to trauma, it could develop due to grief, it could develop due to needing control in one's life, it could develop due to bullying, it could develop due to abuse/neglect, there are dozens of reasons why it can develop & I personally don't think they commonly develop due to magazines/models/wanting to be thin, it can do, however, I think the other reasons I've stated are much more likely, and even if it does develop due to wanting to be thin, there are more than likely to be deeper root causes than that.Ok, I don't know where you have got your information from.

The main aspect of anorexia and bulimia is an extreme fear of being fat and the unrelenting pursuit of weight loss. So why you are saying that wanting to be thin is only one select reason behind the development of ED's is truly beyond me.

Sexual abuse has not been found to dictate whether or not one develops an ED but it has been found to dictate the type of ED that one develops.

Female victims of bullying as well as the female bullies themselves have been found to be at greater likelihood of having an eating disorder so you'll probably find that the key here is back to preoccupation with body shape which is rooted in socio-cultural perceptions of the "ideal body" (models, actresses etc).

The whole thing about needing control is not isolated to EDs so it can't cause you to develop an ED per se. It contributes to you turning to a maladaptive pattern of behaviours but not towards any one in particular. You can turn to self harm for that sense of control as well, for example.

[BeautifulDisaster]

Those are the SYMPTOMS of an ED, not the root cause(s) & the REASONS behind it.
That is the SURFACE of an ED.

[Sapphire]

Those are the SYMPTOMS of an ED, not the root cause(s) & the REASONS behind it.
That is the SURFACE of an ED.You seem to fail to realise that you have to want to lose weight in order to develop anorexia or bulimia which have the main goal of losing weight.

You also seem to have dismissed the other points I've addressed.

[BeautifulDisaster]

Actually, no you don't...
Completely ignorant to ED's obviously.

[Sapphire]

Actually, no you don't...
Completely ignorant to ED's obviously.
Lol.
Pray tell me, how is that?

[BeautifulDisaster]

Dude, I'm not in the mood to debate this with you, but your ignorance on ED's is really not going to change by the looks of it, so I'm pretty much done here.

[Sapphire]

Dude, I'm not in the mood to debate this with you, but your ignorance on ED's is really not going to change by the looks of it, so I'm pretty much done here.
I'll have you know that I do know about the causes of EDs (particularly anorexia and bulimia) and that everything I said can be backed up with sources.

Thin ideal as cause of development of ED's - Thompson and Stice (2001) http://www.jstor.org/pss/20182734
Sexual abuse determines type of ED rather than development - Waller (1991) http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/abstract/159/5/664
Eating disorders affecting both female bullies and female bully victims - Kaltiala-Heino et al (2000) http://doi.apa.org/?uid=2001-14138-002
Need for control as reason for self harm - http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfo/problems/depression/self-harm.aspx

You may have (or have had) one but that does not mean that you know all there is to know about the causes. Just like how I know about the causes but not about how it actually is to suffer from one.

[BeautifulDisaster]

Clearly you don't know about the causes, I'm not interested in those links, I know the facts & I know that wanting to lose weight/be thin is not even scraping the surface of why ED's develop.

Bye now.

[Sapphire]

Clearly you don't know about the causes, I'm not interested in those links, I know the facts & I know that wanting to lose weight/be thin is not even scraping the surface of why ED's develop.

Bye now.
Lol, denial is a wonderful thing judging by your replies.
How can you know all the facts if you seemingly refuse to read something not written by an ED sufferer?
When professors and doctors of psychology and psychiatry have provided me with knowledge on the symptoms, differences and causes of ED's in the form of lectures and peer-reviewed articles, I find it very amusing to see you commenting on my ignorance on this topic.

[ShatteredWings]

Can you two stop threadjacking, thanks.

Yes, a fear of being fat. But why, would be other issues.
Yes, both sides can be correct.

[Sapphire]

;820195']Can you two stop threadjacking, thanks.

Yes, a fear of being fat. But why, would be other issues.
Yes, both sides can be correct.
The reason behind the fear of being fat is rooted in socio-cultural perceptions of the ideal body. In Western culture, the ideal body is thin and we are bombarded by things confirming this.
I had mentioned this...

[kollkolen]

I have an eating disorder. I love food with a passion and can't stop eating. I get bored and eat I think. I'm constantly snacking on something. A cookie here and dog nut there, even though I have plenty of fruit and veggies and try to shy away from breads and spuds.I still find myself snacking on the bad stuff. Anyway with this darn desk job it's starting to take a toll. I'm pushing 20 lbs overweight and I'm not happy about it.

[ShatteredWings]

The reason behind the fear of being fat is rooted in socio-cultural perceptions of the ideal body.
Sure as hell isn't why I have issues with food. If anything, I'm going as far from the 'idea' that society wants for me..

[Sapphire]

;820740']Sure as hell isn't why I have issues with food. If anything, I'm going as far from the 'idea' that society wants for me..
I never said it was the only reason. I just said I couldn't see why she was dismissing it so quickly since it is a large reason as to why many people develop these ED's.

[BeautifulDisaster]

I'm not dismissing it, if you read properly, you'd see I said there are other more common reasons.