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Medical Management of Eating Disorders in Boys and Men: Current Clinical Guidance and Evidence Gaps

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Eating Disorders in Boys and Men

Abstract

This chapter discusses current clinical guidance for eating disorders and their relevance to boys and men experiencing eating disorders. Specifically, we assess clinical practice guidelines from the American Psychiatric Association, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, as well as a position paper from the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine and a recent review article on medical management of eating disorders in adolescents. While many aspects of the current clinical guidance from these organizations are applicable to all genders, there are areas that do not effectively account for differences in eating disorder presentations in boys and men. Specifically, we summarize and provide suggestions for six major aspects of clinical guidance, including monitoring bone health, body mass index, treatment goal weight, refeeding protocols, testosterone testing, use of performance-enhancing substances, and muscle dysmorphia. Given that the evidence base to support clinical recommendations in eating disorders among boys and men is lacking, we also provide suggestions for areas of future research to strengthen the evidence base related to medical treatment in these domains.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In this chapter, we use the terms “males” and “boys/men,” as well as “females” and “girls/women,” interchangeably.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Kyle T. Ganson

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Neville H. Golden

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

    Jason M. Nagata

Authors
  1. Kyle T. Ganson
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  2. Neville H. Golden
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  3. Jason M. Nagata
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kyle T. Ganson .

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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Ganson, K.T., Golden, N.H., Nagata, J.M. (2021). Medical Management of Eating Disorders in Boys and Men: Current Clinical Guidance and Evidence Gaps. 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_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67127-3_10

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-67126-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-67127-3

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