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Nutritional Considerations for Boys and Men with Eating Disorders

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Eating Disorders in Boys and Men

Abstract

The nutritional management of boys and men diagnosed with eating disorders is likely to be suboptimal. The absence of empirical studies and lack of knowledge about the specific nutritional requirements in males is attributed to the female-centric nature of eating disorders, as well as the under-representation of boys and men diagnosed with eating disorders compared to girls and women, especially in clinical settings. This chapter describes the unique characteristics of males diagnosed with eating disorders and highlights the lack of specific nutritional guidelines for boys and men. In particular, this chapter reviews energy considerations, refeeding syndrome, macronutrients, micronutrients, and diagnosis-specific considerations. The current clinical guidance for refeeding and nutritional support is based on studies undertaken predominantly in girls and women. Thus, the relevance of these guidelines for use in males diagnosed with eating disorders is currently unknown. This chapter describes the current nutritional management in males diagnosed with eating disorders and highlights the lack of evidence for these refeeding practices and nutritional management in boys and men.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In this chapter, we use the terms males and boys/men interchangeably.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Nutrition and Food Services, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Melissa Whitelaw

  2. Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Jason M. Nagata

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  1. Melissa Whitelaw
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  2. Jason M. Nagata
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melissa Whitelaw .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Jason M. Nagata

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Tiffany A. Brown

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, USC Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Stuart B. Murray

  4. Department of Medicine, Military Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (MiCOR) Program, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, The Metis Foundation, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Jason M. Lavender

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Whitelaw, M., Nagata, J.M. (2021). Nutritional Considerations for Boys and Men with Eating Disorders. In: Nagata, J.M., Brown, T.A., Murray, S.B., Lavender, J.M. (eds) Eating Disorders in Boys and Men. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67127-3_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67127-3_11

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-67127-3

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