Men and eating disorders. What was once thought nonexistent is now becoming relevant in the minds of men, doctors, dietitians, and therapists: More and more men are diagnosed with eating and body image disorders.
While recognition grows, literature on the subject has been sparse. Making Weight: Men's Conflicts With Food, Weight, Shape, and Appearance is one of the first attempts to fill the gap. It is overdue and welcome, full of straight-ahead information on health and nutrition in a man's world. Because of the rarity of books and research on the subject, the rather clear flaws in Making Weight can be overlooked.
Fresh Information on Men and Eating Disorders
Authors Arnold Andersen, Leigh Cohn, and Thomas Holbrook are solid in addressing the uniqueness of the situation for a man with an eating disorder. They accurately point out that most eating disorder screens are biased toward asking questions that make sense only to women (asking about menstrual cycle interruptions, for example). They also provide clear information on how differences in male physiology affect eating disorder dynamics.
While challenges to the "obesity epidemic" exist in other books, it was intriguing to see the authors question the definitions of "overweight" and "obese" tossed about in fitness magazines and other blurbs. The authors are not as sold out to dietary freedom as others (see Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch), but they make a case that the flight from fat has set the stage for many to develop eating disorders. Making Weight helps the reader consider setting goals that are personally tailored and reasonable.
Also in focus are body image disorders such as muscle dysmorphic disorder (MDD), a subtype of body dysmorphic disorder. MDD, also known as bigorexia, is more likely to occur in men; it involves a compulsive drive for more muscle mass.
Worth Reading: An Account of One Author's Eating Disorder
Psychiatrist Thomas Holbrook pens a chapter on his own bout with anorexia, all the more arresting because he was treating clients with eating disorders in his clinical practice the whole time. Holbrook seems as bewildered as the rest of us that no one said anything to him as he lost pound after pound and became less healthy. No one assumes that a man has an eating disorder, even when the signs are there.
Holbrook's situation is of particular note because he struggled with his disorder for decades. He walks us through early ridicule for being too skinny, many compulsive eating and exercise habits through his high school and college years, and finally, the development of exercise-driven anorexia in the early years of his residency. Holbrook's description of the movement away from disordered eating to health avoids being syrupy or patronizing, addressing the emotional issues that commonly surface in recovery.
Surprises We Can Do Without
I was distracted at times by locker-room language that seemed out of sync with the tone of the writing around it. It's unclear whether these little bombs are designed to set men at ease somehow (in a nudge-nudge, wink-wink kind of way) or whether they just escaped editing. Either way, the result was abrasive.
Also, making references to "studies" without direct providing references may create a cleaner page, but it makes it hard to check facts or get more information. For example: "Studies show that gay males particularly place a higher valuation on thinness than heteroesexual males, with a level of concern for thinness almost equal to that of the typical heterosexual female." Provocative (and what is a "typical heterosexual female," by the way?), but why do I have to do a web search to get the data? (Incidentally, there is support for this statement; I've given you a start with a reference below to a study by Yelland and Tiggemann (2003) that speaks to this issue.) A book that provides relatively new information should give easy access to research. A bibliography is provided, but it's up to you to find the articles relevant to a topic.
A Great Starting Point
I enjoyed Making Weight for its fresh subject matter and its frankness in addressing the issue of body image and eating concerns in men. It's an even-handed book in most respects that gives information across a broad scope. With better attention to detail, this text might be even easier to pull off the shelf again.
References
Andersen, Arnold, Leigh Cohn, and Thomas Holbrook, 2000. Making Weight: Men's Conflicts with Food, Weight, Shape and Appearance. Carlsbad, CA: Gurze Books.
Yelland, Christine and Marika Tiggemann, 2003. "Muscularity and the Gay Ideal: Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating in Homosexual Men." Eating Behaviors 4: 107-116.
