Recent reports indicate that rates of male anorexia are on the rise in the United Kingdom, possibly fueled by the recent global economic recession.

Professor Hubert Lacey, who runs the eating disorder unit at St George's Hospital in London, has seen the number of male referrals double in the past few years. "These are just my observations, and because the numbers are so small statistics can be misleading, but I think there has been a cultural change," he said. "The recession is a factor because, when jobs are under threat, people think more about how they present themselves."

Related to male anorexia is another kind of male eating disorder called dysmorphia, or "bigorexia," in which males relentlessly pursue the development of bigger muscles. Recent research indicates that about 17 percent of males are currently dieting, and that steroid abuse and exercise disorders are increasing in young males.

Experts believe that the onset of an eating disorder in males is usually due to a specific trigger or set of triggers, including childhood bullying, emotional abuse, difficulties with sexual identity, and extreme parental strictness (especially from a father).

(Source: www.streetcorner.com)

Labels: eating disorder, manorexia, bigorexia

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

New statistics provided by Butterfly Foundation, an eating disorder support, indicate that 25 percent of Australian children with anorexia are boys. This is a significant increase that has prompted calls for the government to take eating disorders among males more seriously.

"...these young guys are getting more involved with what I would call significant disordered eating, self harm behaviors, high risk behaviors, excessive exercise, purging and those types of behaviors which very much go with bulimic activity."

The Australian government has acknowledged the problem not only of increased eating disorders but also of emaciated body images that have become popular in the media. Australia's Youth Minister has been tasked with creating a voluntary code for the media to regulate the images it portrays. Source: ABC News Australia

Labels: manorexia, men

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

According to an article appearing this week in the student newspaper of Lewis University, campus health officials are seeing an increase in male athletes with disordered eating behaviors. The behaviors are linked to the athletes' goal of achieving a "competitive advantage" over other athletes. Jill Siegfried, Director of Student Recreation, Fitness and Wellness at Lewis, believes that these behaviors are on the rise among male athletes because of unhealthy social messages that young men are receiving. She believes that male athletes have developed a "notion that thinner will equate to having a competitive advantage."

One popular form of disordered eating that has been observed by Ms. Siegfried and other officials is compulsive exercising as a way to purge calories. Ms. Siegfried explains, "compulsive exercising is a problem when people schedule their lives around exercise just like people who have eating disorders schedule their lives around eating or not eating."

Siegfried believes that unhealthy social messages encourage "body image distortion" and the development of eating disorders in male athletes. "[There's] the whole consumer marketing buzz to six pack abs and all. People see that image and think it could be them. They'll starve themselves or 'over train' to get there. The obsession is [even] starting now with young boys."

Labels: manorexia, athletes

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

This week, Examiner.com published the story of Mark Bergstrom. Bergstrom, a 25-year-old marketing executive from Maryland, sought treatment for anorexia nervosa after dropping from his normal weight of 145 pounds to 108 pounds. Bergstrom believes that his eating disorder originated during his senior year of college. As a serious lacrosse player and self-described perfectionist, Bergstrom was devastated when his coach and mentor died in an accident and Bergstrom sustained injuries which kept him from playing in the final match of his senior year.

He remembers deciding to drink more and eat less as a way to control the chaos in his life. However, it wasn't until a couple of years later that Bergstrom sought formal help, after his weight got dangerously low. He realized that although he could control his urge to drink, he could not control his severe aversion to food. Now recovered, Bergstrom speaks out about men and eating disorders. In particular, he says, the most important step for any guy who thinks he may have an eating disorder is to "just tell someone."

According to the nonprofit organization Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc. (ANRED), anorexia currently affects one male for every four females. (Source: Examiner.com)

Labels: manorexia, bigorexia, men

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments