EATING DISORDERS IN MEN AND BOYS

While most research has focused on girls and women with eating disorders, eating disorders also affect boys and men. Male interest in athletics may be a cause of some eating disorders, but it is not the only cause. Males, like females, may be prone to eating disorders because of low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, or family influence.

Boys and men find more of a stigma attached to eating disorders than girls and women do and therefore may be less likely to seek treatment for the problem. Physicians, friends, and family may also be less inclined to notice the symptoms of eating disorders in boys and men because those illnesses are still more commonly associated with girls and women.