Nowadays, you always hear about the picture image females have to have. We have to have a perfect body shape, be a certain height and a certain weight and have to have the right look to be considered “beautiful” by society. What many of us fail to recognize, is that males have a lot of pressures going for them as well. In fact, 1 in 4 people diagnosed with an eating disorder is male (1).
While “dad bods” are currently trending, in most magazines and ads where men are shown in, they are often depicted shirtless with a very muscular torso. The same way that women want to fit in to be beautiful, men want to fit in with what society finds to make a man sexy or handsome. This causes males to have eating disorders, just like how females get them.
Eating disorders affect over 10 million males in the U.S. at some point in their life, but due to the way society portrays eating disorders, they do not get treated (2).
One big eating disorder in males is muscle dysmorphia. This disorder makes it seem to the affected that their muscles are never big enough and that they are never strong enough. This causes them to eat too little, workout too much, take too many vitamins and supplements and generally is not very good for their health. It can also lead to the use of steroids. Another big eating disorder is called Anorexia Nervosa. This is when you have an intense fear of gaining weight, which causes them to restrict their diet in an unhealthy way.
If you do believe that you are suffering from an eating disorder, or that one of your friends may be suffering from it, there is a special National Eating Disorder hotline. They are available Monday-Thursday from 9 am – 9 pm ET, and Friday from 9 am – 5 pm at (800)-931-2237. They can help you receive information, and also help you find a place for you to see for help!