University of North Carolina Athletics
Athletes and Eating Disorders: Information for Male Athletes
November 8, 2006 | General
Eating disorders are not just for girls and women!
In the United States, approximately 10% of individuals with eating disorders are male (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). This may underestimate the true prevalence when you take into account the fact that men are dissatisfied with their bodies in different ways than women, seek a different body ideal, and use different means to get there (Anderson and Bulik, 2003). A recent Canadian study has suggested that male eating disorders may even be more prevalent, reporting a ratio of male to female cases of approximately 1:5 (Health Canada, 2003). Further, some of the core unhealthy eating behaviors and medical problems associated with eating disorders are the same in males and females (Woodside et al., 2001)
Similarly, Western culture seems to be closing the gender gap in terms of its demands of achieving and maintaining an ideal body image. With unprecedented rates of publication, magazines targeted at men promote increasing muscle mass and decreasing fat, and movies and television show male icons who are as styled, airbrushed, and body-conscious as their female counterparts. Though the athletic, V-shaped, muscular, male ideal still differs from the thin female aesthetic, the message is now the same, and more pressured for both sexes: culture demands men and women to achieve the "perfect" body. Eating disorders occur in both straight and gay men.
While current research on men and eating disorders is unacceptably limited, we do know that male athletes may be particularly susceptible to developing eating disorders. This is true principally in sports that necessitate weigh restriction such as gymnastics, running, body building, rowing, wrestling, horse racing, dancing, swimming, biking, and diving (Andersen, Bartlett, Morgan, & Brownell, 1995).
What is certain is a discrepancy between the prevalence data for male eating disorders and the number of men to receive treatment. One reason for this may be that men do not perceive themselves at risk, and thus minimize or dismiss there need to seek treatment. Moreover, eating disorders may be under detected in men, who when seen by clinicians are misdiagnosed due to cultural biases. Fearful as being seen as having a "woman's problem" many men don't seek help. This is frightening as eating disorders are as deadly in males as they are in females.
Regardless of gender, it is clear that eating disorders are serious health problems which require vigilant medical attention. Gender-biased definitions and stigma may play a unique role in keeping men out of eating disorder treatment programs. While men with eating disorders are sorely underserved in terms of data and treatment, research does suggest that once in treatment, men appear to respond similarly to women (Woodside, 2004).
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fourth Edition. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association Press; 1994.
Anderson RE, Barlett, SJ, Morgan, GD, Brownell, KD. Weight loss, psychological, and nutritional patterns in competitive male body builders. International Journal of Eating Disorders 1995;18(1):49-57
Anderson C, Bulik C. Gender differences in compensatory behaviors, weight and shape salience, and drive for thinness. Eating Behaviors 2003.
Health Canada (2003), Canadian Community Health Survey. Ottawa, Ontario: Statistics Canada.
Woodside DB, Garfinkel PE, Lin E, Goering P, Kaplan AS, Goldbloom DS, Kennedy SH. Comparisons of men with full or partial eating disorders, men without eating disorders, and women with eating disorders in the community. Am J Psychiatry 2001;158(4):570-4.
Woodside DB, Bulik CM, Thornton L, Klump KL, Tozzi F, Fichter MM, Halmi KA, Kaplan AS, Strober M, Devlin B, Bacanu SA, Ganjei K, Crow S, Mitchell J, Rotondo A, Mauri M, Cassano G, Keel P, Berrettini WH, Kaye WH. Personality in men with eating disorders. J Psychosom Res 2004;57(3):273-8.
