Men with Eating Disorders Undiagnosed & Untreated, Study Finds

Sharon Moore April 10, 2014

Eating disorder is a serious mental illness that is widely associated with women. But it can happen in men too. The misconception that eating disorder is a woman’s illness could be the reason why many gents who are also suffering from this condition are not getting the help and support they need, a UK study suggests.

Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa; and binge eating disorder.

The report, published in the British Medical Journal, found that men are underdiagnosed and undertreated for anorexia and other eating disorders, despite making up about a quarter of cases.

Researchers from the University of Oxford and University of Glasgow interviewed 39 young people aged 16 to 25, including 10 men, about their experiences of diagnosis, treatment and support for eating disorders. According to them, young men with eating disorders were "underdiagnosed, undertreated and underresearched".

The researchers said this is partly because the men themselves were unaware of the symptoms, despite purging, not eating for days or obsessive calorie counting.

"Our findings suggest that men may experience particular problems in recognising that they may have an eating disorder as a result of the continuing cultural construction of eating disorders as uniquely or predominantly a female problem," said Dr Ulla Raisanen and Dr Kate Hunt.

One man said he thought eating disorders only affected "fragile teenage girls"; another said he thought eating disorders were "something girls got"; while one was told by his doctor to "man up". Others said they often had to wait a long time for specialist referral and had sometimes been misdiagnosed.

Researchers said GPs and other professionals such as teachers have a key role in improving the outlook for men with eating disorders by challenging misconceptions.

Meanwhile, men themselves needed the courage to "speak up to somebody and contact a health professional to tell them what is going on", Dr Raisanen added.

One estimate puts the cost to the NHS of treating eating disorders at £70m.

Source of this article:

Eating disorders in young men ’are being overlooked’