Long regarded as a women’s problem, the trio of serious eating disorders- the self-starvation of anorexia, the gorging and purging that characterize bulimia and the uncontrolled consumption of large amounts of food that is binge eating- are increasingly affecting males. The stigma attached to eating disorders, profound as it is among women, is almost insurmountable among men, who not only resist bulimia treatment, but are frequently refused treatment even when they do seek it. Those men who do get help often have a heavy burden of shame to unload. In fact, amenorrhoea (the cessation of menstrual periods in females) was regarded for years as a central criterion of anorexia – men, by definition couldn’t have it. Also, the stereotype of the effeminate homosexual male model also dominates, but 80 percent of men with eating disorders – whether bulimia or anorexia – are heterosexual.

Anorexia and bulimia are characterized, in both men and women, by essentially the same traits: self-induced starvation, an excessive fear of becoming fat even when thin, and a tendency toward compulsive living patterns. Men don’t necessarily think in terms of “fat” or “thin” as women do. They relate in terms of “strong” or “weak”, where fat is associated with being weak, unmanly and disgusting. So, for many men, structured forms of exercise are carried to obsessive levels.Anorexia Treatment needs differ between men and women – they have different preoccupation’s with body image, and will be returning to different body shapes. Even if men do decide to seek treatment, the medical establishment may not be prepared and many don’t even know how to respond.