Do Males Get Eating Disorders?

Approximately 10 percent of individuals with anorexia or bulimia, and an estimated 40 percent of those with binge eating disorder, are male.

Eating disorders-anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS)--are serious, complex illnesses that often strike during adolescence or young adulthood. Some mental health professionals believe the percentages of males with eating disorders are increasing. In addition, excessive muscle building, purging, steroid misuse, and other behaviors that are unhealthy but do not reach the level of "disorder" may be on the rise among males.

Due to a lack of data, it has not been feasible to track the frequency of male anorexia over the past few decades, but [one research article estimates that] up to 25 percent of men now suffer from an eating disorder.

Stigma has severely limited the amount of federal research in the area of male eating disorders (no one seems to want to spend a lot of money on it); stigma has also discouraged male sufferers from seeking treatment and participating in the promising studies that do finally get off the ground. Many men and boys feel ashamed of the behaviors that accompany their eating disorders--they often perceive eating disorders as "female illnesses"--and so they frequently choose to struggle with their condition alone rather than risk being judged or ridiculed.

Books such as The Adonis Complex and Making Weight have been instrumental in starting public conversations about male eating disorders, and it is no longer unusual for newspapers or magazines to publish articles about the trials and tribulations of male eating disorder sufferers. Billy Bob Thornton, along with other high-profile men who've had eating disorders, have also come forward to tell their stories.