Reported eating disorders on the rise

How are men impacted by eating disorders? As part of Bell Let’s Talk, Marek Sutherland looks at trends in eating disorders and the rise in young men who are being affected.

Eating disorders affect all ages and genders.

"The one I think people are most aware of, or is more in the news, is anorexia nervosa, which is essentially characterized by weight loss and restriction of eating," said Lindsay Bodell, an assistant professor of psychology at Western University.

There are many forms of eating disorders according to Bodell, from anorexia to binge eating, but a concerning trend is the increase in reported cases of young men and boys.

"The avoidant or restrictive food intake disorder. We know that ARFID is actually more common in boys than girls. And so I think part of some of the increases that we're seeing could be due to other eating disorder symptoms," she said.

Body image among young males may push muscle building beyond a healthy level, leading to food restriction that could interfere with an individual's quality of life.

"It's impairing relationships and maybe it's causing some other kind of physical or mental harm or consequences such as depression or anxiety," said Bodell.

Trying to gauge if someone might be suffering from an eating disorder can be difficult.

"Most eating disorders, you can't actually tell by looking at someone that someone has an eating disorder or not, and eating disorders can affect everyone," she said.

But there are some warning signs to keep an eye out for, according to Bodell.

"Any significant change in someone's eating behavior. So noticing that someone all of a sudden is skipping meals or they're making excuses about eating or not eating, noticing preoccupation around food,” said Bodell.

A study released by the JAMA network showed an increase of over 400 per cent in hospitalizations for males with eating disorders from 2002 to 2019.