Skip to main content

Predictors of Disordered Eating in Young Males

Community Mental Health Journal volume 54, pages 236–244 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Recent findings suggest that disordered eating (DE) symptomatology may be underestimated in the male population. The present study examined depressive symptomatology as a potential mediator of the relationships between body image dissatisfaction, strategies to change body weight and muscles, media pressure, and DE (emotional, restrained and emotional eating) in 260 male undergraduates who completed a self-reported questionnaire. Path analyses indicated that media influence and strategies to decrease body weight had direct positive effects on depressive symptomatology, which in turn predicted emotional eating. Media influence had a direct positive effect on emotional eating, whereas strategies to decrease body weight did not exhibit a direct effect on emotional eating. Therefore, the latter pathway was removed from the model. The link between media pressure, strategies to decrease body weight and emotional eating was partially mediated by depressive symptomatology. The present findings can inform the development and implementation of prevention and education programs for DE in schools and universities.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1

References

  • Ata, R. N., Ludden, A. B., & Lally, M. M. (2007). The effects of gender and family, friend, and media influences on eating behaviors and body image during adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36(8), 1024–1037.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergeron, D., & Tylka, T. L. (2007). Support for the uniqueness of body dissatisfaction from drive for muscularity among males. Body Image, 4, 288–295.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bergstrom, R. L., Neighbors, C., & Lewis, M. A. (2004). Do men find “bony” women attractive? Consequences of misperceiving opposite sex perceptions of attractive body image. Body Image: An International Journal of Research, 1, 183–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brechan, I., & Kvalem, I. L. (2015). Relationship between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating: Mediating role of self-esteem and depression. Eating behaviors, 17, 49–58.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brunet, J., Sabiston, C. M., Dorsch, K. D., & McCreary, D. R. (2010). Exploring a model linking social physique anxiety, drive for muscularity, drive for thinness and self-esteem among adolescent boys and girls. Body Image, 7, 137–142.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Calogero, R. M., Davis, W. N., & Thompson, J. K. (2005). The role of self-objectification in the experience of women with eating disorders. Sex Roles, 52(1), 43–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, T., Chopra, V., Zhang, C., & Woolford, S. J. (2013). The role of social media in online weight management: A systematic review. Journal of medical Internet research, 15(11), 262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daniel, S., & Bridge, S. K. (2010). The drive for muscularity in men: Media influences and objectification theory. Body Image, 7(1), 32–38.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dye, H. (2016). Does internalizing society and media messages cause body dissatisfaction, in turn causing disordered eating? Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work, 13(2), 217–227. doi: 10.1080/23761407.2015.1024572.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, M. C., Cheavens, J. S., Heiy, J. E., & Cukrowicz, K. C. (2010). A reexamination of the factor structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale: is a one-factor model plausible? Psychological Assessment, 22(3), 711.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fairburn, C. G., Cooper, Z., Doll, H., & Davies, B. A. (2005). Identifying dieters who will develop an eating disorder: a prospective, population-based study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(12), 2249–2255.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreiro, F., Seoane, G., & Senra, C. (2011). A prospective study of risk factors for the development of depression and disordered eating in adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 40(3), 500–505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreiro, F., Wichstrøm, L., Seoane, G., & Senra, C. (2014). Reciprocal associations between depressive symptoms and disordered eating among adolescent girls and boys: A multiwave, prospective study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42, 803–812. doi:10.1007/s10802-013-9833-x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fong, T. C., Chan, C. L., Ho, R. T., Chan, J. S., Chan, C. H., & Ng, S. M. (2016). Dimensionality of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale: an exploratory bi-factor analytic study. Quality of Life Research, 25(3), 731–737.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Galioto, R., & Crowther, J. H. (2013). The effects of exposure to slender and muscular images on male body dissatisfaction. Body Image, 10(4), 566–573.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, R. M. (2001). Assessment of body image disturbance in children and adolescents. In J. K. Thompson & L. Smolak (Eds.), Body image, eating disorders, and obesity in youth: Assessment, prevention, and treatment (pp. 193–214). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, R. M., & Boice, R. (2004). A computer program for measuring body size distortion and boys’ dissatisfaction. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 36, 89–95.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grogan, S. (2016). Body image. Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women, and children. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halliwell, E., Dittmar, H., & Orsborn, A. (2007). The effects of exposure to muscular male models among men: Exploring the moderating role of gym use and exercise motivation. Body Image, 4, 278–287.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, J. A., & Robinson, J. D. (2003). Eating disorders in men: Current considerations. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 10(4), 297–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heywood, S., & McCabe, M. P. (2006). Negative affect as a mediator between body dissatisfaction and extreme weight loss and muscle gain behaviors. Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 833–844. doi:10.1177/1359105306069077.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, J., Hiripi, E., Pope, H., & Kessler, R. (2007). The prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication. Biological Psychiatry, 61, 348–358.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, F., & Wardle, J. (2005). Dietary restraint, body dissatisfaction, and psychological distress: A prospective analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 114, 119–125. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.114.1.119.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, D. C. (2004). Body image among adolescent girls and boys: A longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 40, 823–835.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jung, J., Forbes, G. B., & Chan, P. (2010). Global body and muscle satisfaction among college men in the United States and Hong Kong-China. Sex Roles, 63(1), 104–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katsounari, I., & Zeeni, N. (2012). Preoccupation with weight and eating patterns of Lebanese and Cypriot female students. Psychology, 3(6), 507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. 3rd edn. New York, Guilford Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Konttinen, H., Männistö, S., Sarlio-Lähteenkorva, S., Silventoinen, K., & Haukkala, A. (2010). Emotional eating, depressive symptoms and self-reported food consumption. A population-based study. Appetite, 54(3), 473–479.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lampard, A. M., Maclehose, R. F., Eisenberg, M. E., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Davison, K. K. (2014). Weight-related teasing in the school environment: Associations with psychosocial health and weight control practices among adolescent boys and girls. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 43(10), 1770–1780. doi:10.1007/s10964-013-0086-3.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarevich, I., Camacho, M. E. I., del Consuelo Velázquez-Alva, M., & Zepeda, M. Z. (2016). Relationship among obesity, depression, and emotional eating in young adults. Appetite, 107, 639–644.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lundahl, A., Wahlstrom, L., Christ, C., & Stoltenberg, S. (2015). Gender differences in the relationship between impulsivity and disordered eating behaviors and attitudes. Eating Behaviors, 18, 120–124. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.05.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mackinnon, A., McCallum, J., Andrews, G., & Anderson, I. (1998). The center for epidemiological studies depression scale in older community samples in Indonesia, North Korea, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 53(6), 343–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansar, S. L., Jariwala, S., Behih, N., Shahzad, M., & Anggraini, A. (2014). Adapting a database of text messages to a mobile-based weight loss program: The case of the Middle East. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications, 1, 20–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., Hau, K. T., & Wen, Z. (2004). In search of golden rules: Comment on hypothesis testing approaches to setting cutoff values for fit indexes and dangers in overgeneralizing Hu & Bentler’s (1999) Findings. Structural Equation Modeling, 11(3), 320–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCabe, M. P., & Ricciardelli, L. A. (2001). Parent, peer and media influences on body image and strategies to both increase and decrease body size among adolescent boys and girls. Adolescence, 36(142), 225–240.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCabe, M. P., & Ricciardelli, L. A. (2004). Body image dissatisfaction among males across the lifespan: A review of past literature. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 56(6), 675–685.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCabe, M. P., Ricciardelli, L. A., & Banfield, S. (2001). Body image, strategies to change muscles and weight, and puberty: Do they impact on positive and negative affect among adolescent boys and girls?. Eating Behaviors, 2(2), 129–149.

    CAS  Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mond, J. M., Mitchison, D., & Hay, P. (2014). Prevalence and implications of eating disordered behavior in men” in Cohn, Lemberg. In: Current findings on males with eating disorders. Philadelphia, PA: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musaiger, A. O., Al-Mannai, M., & Al-Lalla, O. (2014). Risk of disordered eating attitudes and among male adolescents in five Emirates of the United Arab Emirates. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 47(8), 898–900.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neighbors, L. A., & Sobal, J. (2007). Prevalence and magnitude of body weight and shape dissatisfaction among university students. Eating Behaviors, 8(4), 429–439.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neumark-Sztainer, D., Wall, M., Guo, J., Story, M., Haines, J., & Eisenberg, M. (2006). Obesity, disordered eating, and eating disorders in a longitudinal study of adolescents: How do dieters fare 5 years later? Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 106(4), 559–568. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2006.01.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), 385–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raevuori, A., Keski-Rahkonen, A., & Hoek, H. W. (2014). A review of eating disorders in males. Current Opinions in Psychiatry, 27(6), 426–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rawana, J. S., McPhie, M. L., & Hassibi, B. (2016). Eating- and weight-related factors associated with depressive symptoms in emerging adulthood. Eating Behaviors, 22, 101–108. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2016.04.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ricciardelli, L. A., & McCabe, M. P. (2001). Dietary restraint and negative affect as mediators of body dissatisfaction and bulimic behavior in adolescent girls and boys. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39(11), 1317–1328.

    CAS  Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ricciardelli, L. A., & McCabe, M. P. (2002). Psychometric evaluation of the body change inventory: an assessment instrument for adolescent boys and girls. Eating Behaviors, 3(1), 45–59.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers, R. F., Ganchoub, C., Frankoa, D. L., & Chabrolb, H. (2012). Drive for muscularity and disordered eating among French adolescent boys: A sociocultural model. Body Image, 9, 318–323.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez-Ruiz, M. J., El-Jor, C., Kharma, Abi, Bassil, J., M., & Zeeni, N. (2017). Personality, emotion-related variables, and media pressure predict eating disorders via disordered eating in Lebanese university students. Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 1–10

  • Sands, R., Maschette, W., & Armatas, C. (2004). Measurement of body image satisfaction using computer manipulation of a digital image. The Journal of Psychology, 138(4), 325–337.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Santoncini, C. U., García, F. J., & Peresmitré, G. G. (2006). Psychometric properties of the attitudes towards body figure questionnaire in Mexican female students and patients with eating disorders. European Eating Disorders Review, 14(6), 430–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, M., Richards, C. S., & Bleckley, M. K. (2007). Comorbidity between depression and disordered eating in adolescents. Eating Behaviors, 8, 440–449.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schulte, S., & Thomas, J. (2013). Relationship between eating pathology, body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms among male and female adolescents in the United Arab Emirates. Eating Behaviors,14(2), 157–160. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2013.01.015.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, J. M. (2002). Body image change and adolescent depressive symptoms. Journal of Adolescent Research, 17, 27–41. doi:10.1177/0743558402171002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snoek, H. M., Van Strien, T., Janssens, J. M., & Engels, R. C. (2007). Emotional, external, restrained eating and overweight in Dutch adolescents. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 48(1), 23–32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Striegel, R. H., Bedrosian, R., Wang, C., & Schwartz, C. (2012). Why men should be included in research on binge eating: results from a comparison of psychosocial impairment in men and women. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 45(2), 233–240.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Strother, E., Lemberg, R., Stanford, S. C., & Turberville, D. (2012). Eating disorders in men: underdiagnosed, undertreated, and misunderstood. Eating Disorders, 20(5), 346–355.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, J. L., & Brantley, P. J. (2004). Factor structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale in low-income women attending primary care clinics. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 20(2), 106–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, J. K., Van den Berg, P., Roehrig, M., Guarda, A. S., & Heinberg, L. J. (2004). The Sociocultural attitudes towards appearance scale-3 (SATAQ-3): Development and validation. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 35(3), 293–304.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, M. A., & Gray, J. J. (1995). Development and validation of a new body-image assessment scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 64(2), 258–269.

    CAS  Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Valls, M., Callahan, S., Rousseau, A., & Chabrol, H. (2014). Eating disorders and depressive symptoms: an epidemiological study in a male population. L’Encephale, 40(3), 223–30. doi:10.1016/j.encep.2013.05.003.

    CAS  Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Strien, T., Frijters, J., Bergers, G., & Defares, P. (1986). The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) for assessment of restrained, emotional, and external eating behavior. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 5(2), 295–315. doi:10.1002/1098-108X(198602).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vincent, M. A., & McCabe, M. P. (2000). Gender differences among adolescents in family, and peer influences on body dissatisfaction, weight Loss, and binge eating behaviors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(2), 205–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weissman, M. M., Sholomskas, D., Pottenger, M., Prusoff, B. A., & Locke, B. Z. (1977). Assessing depressive symptoms in five psychiatric populations: A validation study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 106(3), 203–214.

    CAS  Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wertheim, E. H., Paxton, S. J., & Tilgner, L. (2004). Test–retest reliability and construct validity of Contour Drawing Rating Scale scores in a sample of early adolescent girls. Body Image, 1(2), 199–205.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, Lebanese American University, P. O. Box 36, Byblos, Lebanon

    R. Doumit

  2. Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, P. O. Box 36, Byblos, Lebanon

    J. Abi Kharma & N. Zeeni

  3. Department of Social Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, P. O. Box 36, Byblos, Lebanon

    M. J. Sanchez-Ruiz

Authors
  1. R. Doumit
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. Abi Kharma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M. J. Sanchez-Ruiz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. N. Zeeni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. Zeeni.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Authors declare that there are no known conflicts of interest and certify responsibility for the manuscript.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Doumit, R., Abi Kharma, J., Sanchez-Ruiz, M.J. et al. Predictors of Disordered Eating in Young Males. Community Ment Health J 54, 236–244 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-017-0163-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-017-0163-2

Keywords

  • Predictors
  • Emotional eating
  • Depressive symptomatology
  • Media influence
  • Body weight