Just like girls and women, boys and men develop eating disorders. I can attest that eating disorders in males are not atypical or somehow different from eating disorders experienced by females. In fact the numbers seem to be increasing. And according to American Journal of Psychiatry (2001), for every four females with anorexia, there is one male: opposed to 20 years ago when there was only male for every 15 females. However my experience with anorexia was certainly shaped by my gender. I was not as influenced by the intense cultural pressure that encourages women to diet and be thin. Instead society pressures men to be large and strong, and I equated thinness with weakness and frailty. Even so I developed anorexia nervosa and became the bony person I wanted to avoid. The factors that contributed to my eating disorder were too numerous and complex to pinpoint one ultimate cause. Perhaps it was a reaction to being overweight at a child. Maybe it was pressures to fulfill academic and familial expectations that led me to use food to feel successful and in control. Or possibly it was participating in track and martial arts which made aware of my physical appearance and compulsive about exercise. Nevertheless my stick thin figure and refusal to eat isolated me from many of my male friends. As most people know, teenage boys are always eating. So when my friends wanted me to go out to get dinner or some lunch during school I would gratefully decline. As a result I missed out on many bonding opportunities and became withdrawn and depressed. Some insensitive kids would even make comments and say "stop being such a women and man up and eat a cheesesteak". It was difficult as a heterosexual male to have my masculinity mocked and to be categorized as having a female disease. It was even more difficult to find a proper treatment facility because most hospitals, therapists, and literature focus on the treatment of females. Thus I was usually the only male in a room of females and at times I felt uncomfortable and out of place in discussions of lost menstrual periods and women's socio-cultural issues. Nevertheless I needed professional help to recover and I learned being that male has no adverse affect on recovery. Once I committed to an effective, well-run program, my gender made no difference and I learned that eating disorders have no gender, age, or social preference. Since there is no obvious sign such as a lost of a menstrual period to help diagnose eating disorders in men; I believe it is crucial for friends, family, and teachers to be attentive to any changes in eating habits they might notice. Personally it was helpful to have a therapist who had treated other males and who was sympathetic to the male perspective, but the bottom line is that the sooner treatment is begun, the sooner the person can turn the problem around and begin building a happy, satisfying life.
