Eating disorders are often co notated by being a female disorder. However, in this paper it will be viewed by considering male as its scope. Men having Eating disorders are usually not that exposed in the public. They doesn’t want it to be known for it is commonly misconceived as a female disorder. In addition, Eating disorders are developed by homosexuals because the gay community often sets a high standard for their appearance. That’s why if a man has an eating disorder, he would rather keep it in himself (“Issues for Men with Eating Disorders” 2008).
The numbers of men with eating disorders are increasing. Compared to the past ratio wherein for every 10-15 women with anorexia or bulimia, there is one man, now, for every 8-11 women, there is one man (ANRED 2008). As of February 2007, Researchers at Harvard University have presented that up to 25% of adults with eating disorders are male. This shows that they are more concerned with their physical appearance (ANRED 2008), in fact, Men nowadays are losing weight no longer because of health reasons, but because of looking good (Zelman 2008).
As it was presented at the American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition Conference in St. Louis, it was known that more and more men are feeling the pressure to be thin and to look good (American Dietetic Food and Nutrition Conference, St. Louis, cited in Zelman 2008). Because of this, more and more men are having eating disorders due also to their obsession for the so called “thinness and perfection” as stated by Sandra Kronberg. It was pointed out that young boys see those media icons with “perfect” bodies.
They are actually shown what they should look like. When we talk about ‘losing weight’, perhaps the things that would come into your mind would be gym, diet fads, diet pills and the like, on the other hand, there is actually two things connected to it. In this study about Male Eating Disorders, it is important to differentiate first eating disorder from diet for a better understanding of the subject. A Diet is done to lose weight in a healthy way. Avoiding some foods and substituting it with a healthier one would be considered a proper diet.
It is controlling the foods you eat and doing a physical activity to attain a fit body. However, there are unhealthy diets like the crash diet and fad diets. Though people do actually lose weigh, they are actually depriving themselves with the proper nutrients their body needs. This is where starvation actually finds its place. Starvation or hunger is the occurrence of deprivation of any of elements necessary for an organism’s nutrition. If all required elements are inadequate, a complete starvation occurs.
An Eating disorder on the other hand, is losing weight in an unhealthy way. It is to cope with the insecurities an individual feels in order to seek approval from the people around them and also from themselves. It is also necessary to know the different eating disorders. In which, the discussion are indicated below. Anorexia Nervosa This eating disorder is characterized by an extreme terror of becoming fat or gaining weight. A person with Anorexia Nervosa sees a different image of himself.
While others see him as a person with a normal body, he still sees himself the other way. He perceives himself to be an overweight individual. He will refuse to eat for his fear that he might not control his feelings towards eating. That’s why, a person with this eating disorder also engages in a self induced vomiting like in Bulimia Nervosa. An Anorexic individual have a low self esteem and seeks approval from other people in a negative attention. Being obsessed with their weight is a common characteristic of Anorexic individual.
It would be unusual for a man to count his caloric intake, but this is what happens when one is Anorexic. An excessive exercise and use of laxatives are also done. Aside from a low self esteem, people usually becomes anorexic because they deprive them self from pleasure giving things, which includes eating. (“Anorexia Nervosa” 2008). Bulimia Nervosa Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder wherein a person tends to overeat and then will do a self-induced vomiting for the guilt they feel after plunging on consuming a large amount of food.
The series of binging and purging usually accompany Bulimia Nervosa. Every time they eat they coerce themselves to vomit everything that they have consumed. However, there are those bulimics known as non-purging type. They don’t engage on purging but they use other method like over exercising or using laxatives. A bulimic person feels that there’s no way of stopping to eat. They usually eat many times a day in more than the quantity that a normal person can consume. (“Bulimia” 2008).