Expert warns of a rise in men with body image concerns, which can develop into eating disorders

• Body image issues on the rise in men, says Priory psychiatrist
• She says the changing expectations of men in society can exert “extra pressure”
• Men with poor self-image could become fixated on the media ‘ideal’ of being lean and muscular
• A video case study explores the recovery of a male patient

Body image issues among men are on the rise, according to a Priory expert – and this can develop into a serious eating disorder.

Speaking as Mental Health Awareness Week (13 to 19 May) focuses on the issue of body image, Dr Lorna Richards of Priory Hospital Woking, said men often feel worse today about the way they look than they did in the 1970s and 1980s.

Many struggle with their appearance and, similar to women, research shows men are often caught between feeling either too thin or too heavy.

They feel they can't match up to an ideal, and their lack of confidence socially compounds their own criticism of their appearance. Poor body image is often linked to dieting, over-exercising, or eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder (BED), and to other mental health issues such as low self-esteem, depression or anxiety.

Dr Richards said it often results from men comparing their body with what the media suggests is the ideal male body size and shape - namely, lean and muscular. It's not uncommon for men with body dissatisfaction to be focused on weight change and muscle building, which can lead to over-exercising and the use of image enhancing drugs.

A study by the University of the West of England found that almost 30% of men think about their appearance at least five times a day.^[i] Yet research by Psychology Today reported that women are less concerned about a man’s body image than men perceived them to be.^[ii]

Dr Richards said some men frequently attend the gym to radically change their bodies, and the media has its part to play in fuelling a desire to pack on muscle and resemble cinema 'superheroes'.

She also said that cultural shifts “such as a changing of gender roles” were also putting pressure on some men, such that they may become confused about society’s expectations of them.

Historically, 10 times as many females as males develop an eating disorder. However, recent studies have shown the gap has narrowed and it's now thought that as many as 25% of people with an eating disorder are male, although many go unreported.^[iii] Dr Richards said: “I'm certainly seeing more male patients. I believe many others simply aren’t being diagnosed or receiving the support they need.”

Callum Orr, a former patient at Priory’s Life Works, now 28 years old, talks about his own body image issues in a case study.

Callum said he had always suffered from a lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem, but he says getting dental braces worsened his anxiety and eventually his negative feelings towards himself “tipped him over the edge”.

His deep insecurity manifested itself in him losing half his body weight.

As his symptoms worsened, and he didn’t receive the right support, Callum eventually reached out to his parents and decided that inpatient treatment was necessary.

Callum received his eating disorder treatment at Priory Life Works. He explained how his “life-changing” treatment put him on a course to recovery.

Dr Richards says it's important to seek help early. She recommends that loved ones should take a “proactive” approach in trying to encourage people to access treatment.

She says that men who reach out don’t always receive the right treatment. If someone receives treatment that isn’t helpful, Dr Richards says they “shouldn’t be put off” but “try again”. Early treatment is paramount in preventing an eating disorder from becoming more severe.

^[i] ‘The rise of male body image issues and how the media is complicit’, Ask Men, https://me.askmen.com/inspiration/1100981/article/the-rise-of-male-body-image-issues-and-how-the-media-is-complicit

^[ii] ‘Body image men’, Mirror Mirror, https://www.mirror-mirror.org/body-image-men.htm

^[iii] Eating disorder statistics’, BEAT, https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/media-centre/eating-disorder-statistics

ENDS

Contact: [email protected]

Link to case study here: https://vimeo.com/335373436

About Priory and MEDIAN

Priory is the UK’s leading independent provider of mental health services. We treat more than 70 conditions, including depression, anxiety, addictions and eating disorders, as well as children’s mental health, across our nationwide network of sites. We also support autistic adults and adults with a learning disability, Prader-Willi Syndrome and brain injuries, as well as older people, within our specialist residential care and supported living facilities – helping as many people as possible to live their lives.

Priory is part of the MEDIAN Group, one of Europe’s leading providers of high quality mental health and rehabilitation services. The MEDIAN Group comprises 290 facilities with 5,000 beds caring for 28,000 people in the UK, 120 facilities with 20,000 beds caring for around 250,000 patients in Germany, and 15 facilities with 2,000 beds caring for 13,000 people in Spain, with more than 29,000 employees overall.