Men and Eating Disorders

Despite the stereotype that only women experience eating disorders, around 25% of people with eating disorders are men (Sweeting et al., 2015). The perception that eating disorders are a female condition can be incredibly harmful: men with eating disorders are less likely to seek help and treatment, and healthcare professionals may be less likely to recognise and diagnose these conditions in men (Raisanen & Hunt, 2014).

What do eating disorders in men look like?

The difficulties and symptoms experienced by men with eating disorders are very similar to those experienced by women: when it comes to eating disorders, there may be more sex similarities than differences. However, there are some specific differences that impact the presentation of eating disorders in men. These include:

• Body image concerns. Eating disorders are typically associated with a drive for thinness, but men may relate more to low body fat, muscular body ideals (Murray et al., 2012).
• Cultural pressures. In some cultures, men are actively discouraged from talking about their emotions or asking for help (Levant et al., 2009). This might make men less likely to seek treatment, or make it difficult for them to engage in talking therapy.
• Men are more likely to have experienced a history of being overweight prior to developing an eating disorder (Gueguen et al., 2012).
• Gay men may be at greater risk of developing an eating disorder compared to straight men (Bramon-Bosch et al., 2000).
• Men may be more likely to engage in excessive exercise compared to women with eating disorders (Murray et al., 2014).
• Men with eating disorders may also present with difficulties with substance and alcohol abuse, and experience co-occurring mood disorders (Bramon-Bosch et al., 2000).

Treating men with eating disorders

Our research suggests that men do not require gender-specific treatments for their eating disorders, and benefit from the same interventions as women (Kinnaird & Norton, Tchanturia, 2018; Kinnaird et al., 2019). Men told us that they want to be treated as individuals, and do not want clinicians to only focus on their gender. However, existing eating disorder treatments can sometimes be very female-centric, such as body image materials only including images of women and focusing on thinness. Effectively treating men with eating disorders means adapting and integrating male-specific concerns into standard treatment approaches.

Autistic men with eating disorders

Reflecting eating disorder research more widely, the existing research on autism and eating disorders is very female-dominated. However, we know that around two thirds of autistic people are men. As previously stated we think that around 25% of people with eating disorders are men, but a study found that around 40% of autistic people with eating disorders were men (Karjalainen et al., 2016). Whether or not men with eating disorders are more likely to be autistic compared to their female peers is something that needs further investigation.