Navigating Male Eating Disorders: Unveiling the Transformative Power of Gender-Sensitive Interventions

Introduction

Male eating disorders have been around for many years, and until recently, the condition was typically viewed as a female issue. However, the recent dramatic rise in eating disorders or men suggests significant research and intervention areas. The number of males with anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorders has continued to rise at tremendous rates. Men suffering from eating disorders are currently underdiagnosed, undertreated, and misunderstood by many clinicians who encounter them (Calzo et al., 2017). Men with eating disorders are faced with a huge stigma to overcome, and consequently, significant neglect in both diagnosis and treatment. Reports show that eating disorders affect about 10 million U.S. males at some point in their lives but are likely to seek treatment due to associated cultural bias (Thapliyal et al., 2018). Stereotypes in men with eating disorders hinder the convenience of evidence-based treatments for men and limit effective interventions for gender-specific issues. Physicians who treat males with eating disorders face challenges as treatment paradigms resources are largely focused on females. Therefore, there is a need to develop a comprehensive treatment intervention approach that addresses stigma to provide an effective treatment option for males with eating disorders. This paper explores a gender-sensitive intervention recognizing the different needs and dynamics of males as effective interventions for males suffering from eating disorders. A brief description of the infographic of males with eating disorders will first be highlighted

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Infographics for Males Suffering from Eating Disorders

Numerous studies on male body image have found that many men and boys have misguided perceptions about their weight and physique, especially the meaning of muscularity (Nagata, 2020). Most men and boys prefer to be lean and muscular, a typical representation of the male body type. Exposure to unattainable images makes males dissatisfied with their bodies. Besides, the sexual objectification of men and internalization of images forecast motivation for muscularity. The desire for increased muscularity is very common. Studies have found that about 25 percent of males with normal body weight see themselves as underweight, while 90 percent of boys exercise regularly with a goal of bucking up (Calzo et al., 2017). Also, males with muscle dysmorphia are obsessed with being adequately muscular, leading to compulsions such as spending too much time in the gym, spending a lot of money on body supplements, and developing abnormal eating patterns.

Gender-Sensitive Interventions Approach

A gender-sensitive approach examines male eating disorders by considering the following aspects discussed below.

Weight History

Weight history is one of the important distinctions between males and females. Unlike women who generally fell fat prior to using compensatory behaviors such as exercises to lose weight, men normally become relatively obese at one point in their lives even before having an eating disorder. These compensatory behaviors are mostly common in men than women as they are more motivated to lose or gain weight to achieve optimal performance in sports or avoid developing medical complications previously developed by their fathers. Therefore, the gender-sensitive approach requires interventions to treat male eating disorders to consider the weight gain/loss history to treat the existing disorder effectively.

Sexual Orientation

Studies suggest that most symptoms related to male eating disorders are more with gay and bisexual men than in heterosexual men (Simone et al., 2020). Homosexual men are more concerned over their body shape and weight and thus a significant predictive aspect for the risk of developing an eating disorder among males. Some males who have confusion around their sexual orientation find relief in reducing their weight due to restricted eating. Severe weight loss may lead to alteration of the body's physiology, including reduced testosterone levels. Besides, men with feminine and undifferentiated gender roles are more likely to develop eating disorders than masculine men. Thus, professionals tasked with treating male eating disorders using the gender-sensitive approach should be conscious of the gender roles and associated differences in diagnosing someone with disordered eating. These manipulating factors should be handled with unique interventions specific to men.

Depression and Shame

Males suffering from eating disorders are more susceptible to depression and shame. The unseen depression triggers numerous problems usually attributed to being a male, such as alcohol and drug abuse, failures in intimacy and domestic violence, and now eating disorders (Canan et al., 2017). Most men do not report this due to the depression and shame linked with the stigma of being feminine. Failure to report the symptoms of eating disorders among males is a significant barrier to diagnosis, treatment, and accurate research for effective intervention. The gender-sensitive approach focuses on promoting an acceptable culture that allows susceptible males to report symptoms of eating disorders to improve the accuracy and frequency of intervention.

Exercise and Body Image

Excessive exercise, which sometimes becomes addictive, is one of the most common behaviors among males suffering from eating disorders. Some males with eating disorders use exercise as a compensatory behavior for calorie intake, while others become addicted to exercising to reduce their weight and promote better health (Nagata et al., 2020). However, such exercises result in self-starvation, eventually contributing to an eating disorder. Consequently, other aspects of personal life, such as social activities and interference with work start to develop among individual males.

Effectiveness of the Gender-Sensitive Approach in Enhancing Patient’s Experience

One male-specific area that the gender-sensitive intervention approach focuses much is of dysmorphic disorder. Putting much attention to this disorder and understanding how male body image concerns vary from women's concerns is very important in helping men with an eating disorder. Understanding this helps patients work towards altering their perceptions of body image by developing new understandings of masculinity while placing more value on personal qualities rather than appearance (Calzo et al., 2017). Besides, the gender-sensitive intervention approach encourages susceptibility through the empathy that exists in group work. In this regard, when a male began to reveal his issues with food disorders or body images in groups, other men began to feel safer revealing their own issues, eventually dismissing the perception that eating disorders are only common with females. This usually facilitates the identification of each individual with issues of eating disorders and issues of depression, addiction to drugs, and other comorbid factors (Canan et al., 2017). Nevertheless, by incorporating issues distinct from males such as weight history, sexual orientation, depression, and shame, as well as abuse of exercises among males with symptoms of an eating disorder, the gender-sensitive intervention can ultimately lead to improved personal experience for the patients. However, gender-sensitive intervention should be integrated with other intervention approaches effectively used with women to enhance an evidence-based intervention effectively.

How Health Policy Influences the Planning and Implementation of the Gender-Sensitive Intervention

Although most research and policies focus on female experiences with eating disorders, it is important to consider ways to create policies that can influence the planning and implementation of the gender-sensitive approach toward treating males with eating disorders. One way is by changing the conversation around body image, body shaming, self-esteem, and all positive and negative relationships with foods that stigmatize eating disorders. Good policies question cultural perspectives while promoting body positivity and healthy relationships with foods (Simone et al., 2020). Although the change in these conversations is frequently occurring, there is a need for policies to make them more inclusive to avoid stigmatization. Besides, policies create a demand for information about male eating disorders, thereby supporting inclusive dialogues surrounding eating disorders and the stigmatization men experience due to these conditions. Creating inclusive dialogues is an important aspect of gender-sensitive intervention toward creating a safe and positive environment for men struggling with eating disorders and the associated stigma. Good policies advocate for those men struggling in various ways such as education and encouraging people to change the negative conversation around males with eating disorders.

Strengths and Limitations of the Gender-Sensitive Intervention Approach

One of the major strengths of the gender-sensitive intervention is considering the underlying differences present in influencing and propagating factors for eating disorders for both men and women. By considering these factors, the gender-sensitive intervention can present better empirical data that can lead to more accurate and conclusive diagnostic and evaluation criteria and treatment interventions. The use of diagnostic and assessment tools that focus on compensatory behaviors, attitudes about food, and emotional triggers in males, would increase the accuracy of reporting of eating disorders by males, consequently leading to the application of effective treatment intervention (Thapliyal et al., 2018). Promoting awareness of the fundamental issues that explain the reason some men are more vulnerable to an eating disorder can promote an environment where men can raise their bodies and food disorders without being afraid of the associated stigma.

Another strength of the gender-sensitive intervention is that it promotes a culture that allows male vulnerability as the major goal. Although males are not expected to be emotionally vulnerable, most men encounter daily pressures of becoming more muscular to meet an ideal man's perspective (Canan et al., 2017). Gender-sensitive intervention approach addresses this concern by encouraging males not to focus on how they look, as it would expose the body image and weight concerns that encourage eating disorders. Nonetheless, the gender-sensitive intervention requires wider attention in developing and evaluating eating disorder treatments that enhance further development of gender-informed interventions.

Personal and Professional Growth throughout the Gender-Sensitive Intervention

Gender-sensitive intervention for males suffering from eating disorders provides a significant opportunity for individuals to advance both their personal and professional growth. Throughout the gender-sensitive intervention, an individual can enhance personal growth by interacting with more men to learn about different eating disorders and the consequences they experience. Gender-sensitive intervention for men with eating disorders is not adequately studied, thus providing a good opportunity for personal growth. Most males are silently struggling with eating disorders as they have historically been left out of the wider conversation around body image and associated eating disorders. Thus, working throughout the gender-sensitive intervention presents an individual with an opportunity to fight the community's perception that eating disorders are exclusively women's issues. Doing this represents significant professional growth toward building emotional trust and communication with males.