Eating Disorders Affect More Than Just Females (National Eating Disorders Awareness Week)

[The Straight Story]

February 23, 2014

PHILADELPHIA (CBS)–Today marks the start of “National Eating Disorders Awareness Week,” and a University of the Sciences professor says the problem is not just limited to young women.

Doctor Alix Timko is an assistant psychology professor at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. She is also the director of the school’s Eating Disorder Research Program. Timko says years ago, it was believed that the disorder happened in one demographic.

“The research in general shows that eating disorders are more common than we initially thought, and not only do they not just occur in young women, but they are actually common in men and boys. The most common age of onset for eating disorders is during adolescence.”

Timko says tell-tale signs of eating disorders are a preoccupation with perfection, with food and dissatisfaction with body weight or shape. She says an estimated 25-million Americans suffer from eating disorders. That national eating disorders hotline is 1-800-931-2237.

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/02/23/eating-disorders-affect-more-than-just-females/#.UweewHKdTR8.twitter

[Cleita]

1. They are just discovering this?

I've noticed boys having some bizarre dining rituals as well that are unhealthy for some time now.

[laundry_queen]

2. yep.

My brother's friend, R, nearly died from anorexia back in the 90's. I think he was around 14 years old or so?

He was a pudgy kid. He played hockey with my brother. He got sick and lost a few pounds. When he returned to the team he played a great game and the coach commented that maybe it was those few pounds he lost that made him play such a great game.

That was all it took.

He started to watch what he ate and lose weight. He became obsessed with hockey and practicing. He became obsessed with not just his, but everyone's diet. He would harass my brother at lunch time for bringing a cookie for lunch, because the cookie was 'full of fat' and my brother's lack of dietary discipline was going to 'cost the team'. This kid would bringing nothing but carrots and lettuce for lunch. Parents with kids on the hockey team noticed this kid getting quite skinny, but it was hard to tell because he always wore really bulky clothing and he was quite big boned. Near the end of the hockey season, some parents were asking the coach to have a talk with R's parents because it was obvious by then he was having an issue....he had no stamina in a game and more than one other kid on the team mentioned R not eating all day during a tournament.

I remember one day, after hockey season was over, in June when I had finals, I saw R. He looked green in the face. He did not look good at all. I told my parents how awful he looked. They mentioned his mom was trying to get him help but that he was resistant.

2 days later, he collapsed at school and had a seizure. He was rushed to the hospital where he went into cardiac arrest.

He did survive. The family got intensive counselling. Today, he's fine. But it was a very close call.

Another thing: he was the only boy I knew of in our school with an eating disorder. However, a vast majority of the popular girls had bulimia. Many of my friends did also. A lot of girls would starve all day, then binge, then purge. I never made myself vomit, but looking back I purged with exercise. I exercised compulsively for years. To this day my hips and knees are shot from overuse injuries. Eating disorders are becoming more common in boys, but it's still mostly girls that have it. I did read that with boys, eating disorders often center around sports or weight lifting whereas for girls it's usually about appearance, not performance. Of course those are generalizations.