Even Men Can Have Binge Eating Disorder
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Even though the stereotype is that eating disorders are thought to be a women's disorder, binge eating disorder can affect just about as many men as it does women. This stereotype is incorrect. There are 25 million people that struggle daily with Binge Eating Disorder. Out of that 25 million, about 40% are men and you may be surprised by this. In other words, three women for every two men suffer from binge eating disorder and this is according to Wikipedia.com.
There are different reasons as to why men develop Binge Eating Disorder. There is one cause and that is if they play or played sports sometime in their life that required them to be thin or to lose a lot of weight for a particular competition, such as a wrestling match or running. Football players and body builders are still at risk, but it is lower since these sports require some meat and muscles in order to be successful. The chosen profession actually calls for thinness such as modeling and acting is yet another reason. Trying to maintain a level of thinness when they are in the public eye and when they are being looked at is a pressure that men also face.
When it comes to developing this kind of binge eating disorder, a man is more at risk at an older age than a woman does especially if the man had a tendency to be overweight as a child. The reason for this is because growing up a man believes that he needs to be strong and be able to protect not only himself, but also a female. If he is thin, then this will translate to being fragile and he will see himself as not being powerful and not being able to get the things that he wants in life because he is considered weak.
Although men are more reluctant to visit a professional since eating disorders are considered to be female difficulties, the treatment for men is the same as women. The professional will go into detail to find out why the man comforts himself with food. When the reason why he binges comes to the surface, the professional can then give him ideas of how to change his behaviors. When this happens and when the man feels comfortable with the professional, then the journey to recovery starts.
It's clear that binge eating disorder is not only a female disorder, as many males are affected too. It is important to admit that your relationship with food is not healthy and to seek help on how to make it healthy once again regardless if you are a male or a female.
There are different reasons as to why men develop Binge Eating Disorder. There is one cause and that is if they play or played sports sometime in their life that required them to be thin or to lose a lot of weight for a particular competition, such as a wrestling match or running. Football players and body builders are still at risk, but it is lower since these sports require some meat and muscles in order to be successful. The chosen profession actually calls for thinness such as modeling and acting is yet another reason. Trying to maintain a level of thinness when they are in the public eye and when they are being looked at is a pressure that men also face.
When it comes to developing this kind of binge eating disorder, a man is more at risk at an older age than a woman does especially if the man had a tendency to be overweight as a child. The reason for this is because growing up a man believes that he needs to be strong and be able to protect not only himself, but also a female. If he is thin, then this will translate to being fragile and he will see himself as not being powerful and not being able to get the things that he wants in life because he is considered weak.
Although men are more reluctant to visit a professional since eating disorders are considered to be female difficulties, the treatment for men is the same as women. The professional will go into detail to find out why the man comforts himself with food. When the reason why he binges comes to the surface, the professional can then give him ideas of how to change his behaviors. When this happens and when the man feels comfortable with the professional, then the journey to recovery starts.
It's clear that binge eating disorder is not only a female disorder, as many males are affected too. It is important to admit that your relationship with food is not healthy and to seek help on how to make it healthy once again regardless if you are a male or a female.
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