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Epidemiology of Eating Disorders in Boys and Men

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Eating Disorders in Boys and Men

Abstract

This chapter examines the epidemiology of eating disorders among boys and men, including prevalence, demographic distribution, impairment/burden, comorbidity, and treatment-seeking. While eating disorders are commonly believed to occur predominantly in girls and women, eating disorders affect around 5–10% of adolescent boys and 2% of adult men. Moreover, many adolescent boys and adult men experience symptoms of eating disorders, such as body dissatisfaction or disordered eating. These issues cause significant impairment in regard to their quality of life. Furthermore, men with eating disorders frequently experience comorbid psychological disorders, in particular anxiety and depression. Despite these impairments, few adolescent boys or men receive treatment for their eating disorder.

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Trompeter, N., Bussey, K., Mitchison, D. (2021). Epidemiology of Eating Disorders in Boys and Men. 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_4

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