News: Eating disorders more common among men than you think

Men now account for one in three cases of anorexia and one in four cases of bulimia, according to Dr. Blake Woodside, medical director of the eating disorder program at Toronto General Hospital. "This is not just an illness of women," he told the Toronto Star.

Traditionally, men were thought to account for one in 10 cases of anorexia and one in 20 cases of bulimia. Dr. Woodside says his community study plus two others show that men with eating disorders are actually a lot more common.

So why are eating disorders among men so much more common than we thought?

According to Dr. Woodside, men seek out help less often than women, and there’s also a misconception that eating disorder treatment programs are specific to women. As a society it also just doesn’t occur to us that men could be affected by eating disorders. That perception even prevails among doctors and nurses, says Dr. Woodside, a factor that could further prevent men from getting proper treatment.

What’s your opinion on how society views men with eating disorders?

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