By Angie Best-Boss, Contributing Writer
A large US study of adolescents reported shows that significant numbers of young males experiencing problem weight control behavior.
- 2%-3% of males diet all the time or more than ten times a year
- 5%-14% of males deliberately vomit after eating
- 12%-21% had a history of binge eating
A study published in the 2001 American Journal of Psychiatry found many psychological similarities between men and women with eating disorders, with both groups experiencing similar symptoms.
Signs of eating disorders in men:
- Poor body image
- Decreased sexual desire
- Frequent exercise
- Depression
- Performing food rituals
- Perfectionist behaviors
- Electrolyte disturbances
- Isolating oneself
- Thinning hair
- Low body weight
- Obsessive-compulsiveness
- Inability to eat with others
- Fatigue, weak muscles
Precipitating events of male eating disorders include overwhelming stress such as divorce, children leaving for college, increased job responsibility, and a family member who becomes serious ill. Male eating disorders are most commonly seen in specific subgroups. For instance, males who wrestle show a disproportionate increase in eating disorders -- rates 7 to 10 times higher than normal. In addition, homosexual males have an increased rate of eating disorders. Actors Dennis Quaid, and Billy Bob Thornton and singer Elton John has said he suffered from bulimia.
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