Male Weight Loss

When you think of eating disorders, what comes to your mind? Girls or boys? I bet the first gender that came to your mind were females, right? Although eating disorders are the most chronic illness in the female adolescent population, about 10% of the total statistic is male. Male's are more at risk then female's because most of the time, male eating disorders are misdiagnosed.

There are two main eating disorders, bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. What are each of these specifically? Anorexia nervosa is a refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Bulimia nervosa is restraining of food intake for a period of time followed by and over intake or "binging" period that results in feelings of guilt and low self-esteem. Both of these are considered female illnesses even by the men who have the illness. Just because the majority of people who have these illnesses are girls/women it doesn't mean the men are homosexual. About 80% of males with eating disorders are heterosexual. Also, 5-16% of patients with bulimia are male, and since they are males, many are denied treatment. Because of this, many male cases go unreported.

Another popular way for men to lose weight and gain muscle is by taking anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are artificial substances that are extremely similar to the male sex hormone, testosterone. These are used to increase their physical appearance where bigger is better, also referred to as reverse anorexia. When people take steroids, they can either be injected or they are in pill form.

All the pressure girls feel having to have the "perfect" body, guys feel it too. In the media it is portrayed that all guys should have amazing abs and extraordinary arms so they can get all the chicks. In most cases girls are looking for an average guy, someone who let's them feel comfortable in their own skin as well.