This week we celebrated International Men’s Day.

Put in place to recognise the positive impact that men have within homes, families and the wider communities, it was also set up as a way of bringing more awareness to issues that men face day to day but that are not really talked about. Over the past week we have looked at mental health and domestic violence, but today we wanted to tackle the very difficult subject of eating disorders and the impact that they have.

While none of us would disagree that the introduction of the internet has been lifechanging in allowing us to access things we would never have thought possible, it has also thrust us into a hyperrealism that has created a generation of young men and women who are inundated with unrealistic images of beauty. Eating disorders have always been an issue, but todays world has exaggerated what was already a problem. Changing the dynamic dramatically, it has increased the rise in eating disorders across both men and women exponentially.

In the UK alone, 25% of everyone currently struggling with an eating disorder is male although the belief is that the figure could be as high as 40% According to The Priory Group, whilst eating disorders most commonly develop between the age of 16 and 40 years old, they have been diagnosed in children as young as 6 years old and adults as old as 70, and are currently responsible for the highest mortality rates among psychiatric disorders.

Traditionally, eating disorders are associated with females, and whilst a higher percentage of those that present are female, its important to understand that gender doesn’t dictate who will be affected. The statistics are terrifying and only underline just how serious the problem has become.

• Around 25-30% of adolescent boys are using unhealthy weight control behaviours. These include skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, purging, over-exercising, diet pills, hiding food or drinking high caffeine drinks.
• 50% of teens, (male and female), with eating disorders will also suffer depression but this is most likely caused by the disorder. Malnutrition causes physiological changes in the brain that can affect emotion and mood.
• In a 2023 NHS questionnaire, 21.7% of 17-19 year old males admitted that they had considered themselves to be fat when others had said they were thin.
• 10.3% were ashamed of how much they ate.
• 17.1% of young men blamed themselves when they felt they had eaten too much.
• 13.9% felt that worries about eating interfered with their day to day life.
• 7.3% had made themselves vomit after eating.

With children and teens becoming more aware of their body shape at a much younger age, where do you even begin to help them recognise the dangers inherent in the media or the influences around them, and instead, work towards a positive body image and learning to love themselves as they are.

There are many different factors that can push a boy or man towards an eating disorder.

From family dynamics to environmental factors to sexual orientation, being able to recognise the possibility of them being ill and pin down the cause so you can help them becomes very important.

Some of the biggest factors for boys and men are as follow:

• Teasing through childhood and adolescence. (Too thin, too fat, too weak, too scrawny etc)
• Peer pressure and competition between boys over who is the strongest and toughest in the group.
• Societal promotion of the ideal man – tall, muscular, lean and strong.
• Advertising campaigns, media coverage, online influencers, gaming and social media depicting unrealistic images of people and their lives.
• Being encouraged to be at a certain weight by adults to play particular sports – eg. wrestling, swimming and gymnastics.
• Sports personalities as role models who are at the absolute peak of fitness because their job requires them to be.
• Parental behaviour – if parents have an unhealthy relationship with food, this can encourage similar behaviours in their children, both male and female.
• Boys questioning their sexuality are at a much increased risk of struggling with an eating disorder.
• Familial factors such as a neglectful parent, parental absence or difficult relationships within the family unit can all have an impact.
• Other individual factors can include, low self esteem, early puberty, being overweight or obese.

Eating disorders are responsible for more loss of life than any other mental health condition, and part of their difficulty with both diagnosis and treatment lies in their complete uniqueness and complexity. Every single person will present differently with differing reasons for their illness. Beginning to unravel and treat them as an individual is a long process, but one that is absolutely essential to a full recovery.

Unfortunately worldwide, it can be very difficult for men and boys to come forward. As a result of gender stereotypes that are still very much prevalent in todays society, their concerns are not always met in the same way and the stigma attached to being a man suffering with this type of condition prevents many from stepping up and asking for help.

In 2020, the BBC released a documentary that really drove home how difficult it can be for men to come forward. Freddie Flintoff – cricketer extraordinaire, Top Gear presenter and all round fun bloke opened up about a 20 year battle with bulimia which began in his early twenties and started because of the cruelty of the press.

Prior to that he hadn’t experienced problems, but as someone in the public eye, the press felt theirs was the right to comment how they saw fit, resulting in his relationship with food changing dramatically.

Flintoff is not the only celebrity male to have opened up about this over the last few years. In 2016, Zayn Malik released his autobiography in which he spoke candidly about his eating disorder whilst with One Direction, and in March 2023, Ed Sheerhan was interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine.

During the interview, he admitted to having suffered with Bulimia saying,

“There’s certain things that, as a man talking about them, I feel mad uncomfortable, I know people are going to see it a type of way, but it’s good to be honest about them. Because so many people do the same thing and hide it as well.”

Sheeran shared that he “found myself doing what Elton John explains in his 2019 memoir, Me – gorging, and then it would come up again.”

Male Stars Who Have Talked Eating Disorders, Body Image Issues | Us Weekly

Eating disorders are devastating, no matter whom they affect and the numbers are growing across all genders. Knowing what to do, where to go, and ensuring that concerns are taken seriously from the start are vital to being able to recover fully. The earlier, the better.

First and foremost, its important that we talk about these things with our children, become aware of the signs and make them aware of the signs.

Anorexia

• Dramatic weight loss and wearing baggy clothes to hide the loss.
• Missing meals, taking appetite supressants or excessively counting calories for what they are eating.
• Cutting food into tiny pieces to disguise how little has been eaten or chewing and spitting food out.
• Social withdrawal.

Bulimia and Binge Eating Disorders

• Disappearing to the bathroom after eating.
• Bad teeth and a continual sore throat.
• Binge eating, vomiting and misusing laxatives.
• Excessive exercise and social isolation.
• Eating a large amount of food in a very short time.
• Eating alone rather than around people.
• Altering schedules to make time for bingeing.
• Frequent dieting or hiding food for later.
• Eating when they feel bad.

Pica

• This diagnosis is given to people who have a compulsive need to eat non-food items with no nutritional benefit. This can be very dangerous to the individual and is associated with iron deficiency anaemia and developmental disorders.

ARFID – Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

• Not eating enough food or eating very slowly
• Fear of choking or vomiting
• Lack of interest around food
• Anxious around mealtimes and very sensitive to textures
• Avoids particular foods
• Common in Autistic individuals

(www.teenagehelpline.org.uk/eating-disorders/)

If you are concerned about yourself, its important to talk to someone openly about your concerns. Don’t be embarrassed or afraid to ask for help. Recovery is almost impossible alone, especially when you don’t understand the underlying cause, and opening up is a very important first step.

Keeping a food diary can also help to keep track of what is happening and will help when you are ready to open up. Attaching emotions, locations and company to the information you put in there can also help you to identify possible triggers and is massively helpful for any professionals working with you to treat the condition.

Rise Up have also created an app which allows you to do this from your phone whenever you need to. Link for information on the app.

Your GP would always be the first port of call, but there are lots of groups online who are there to help you through this.

Home – SANE

The UK’s Eating Disorder Charity – Beat

Home – SEED | Eating Disorders Support Service %

Home | Teenage Helpline

Treatment and support for eating problems – Mind

Eating Disorder Treatment: UK Clinics, Treatment Plans & Funding Options – Priory

“There is no magic cure, no making it all go away forever. There are only small steps upward; an easier day, an unexpected laugh, a mirror that doesn’t matter anymore.” – Laurie Halse Anderson