Eating disorders and boys

Watch Marcia Herrin, EdD, MPH, RD, LD's video on Eating disorders and boys...
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Eating disorders and boys

Boys can get eating disorders. Overall, there's a 10% of people with eating disorders are male - 10%. And that's stayed standard through the years that we've been following eating disorders. But there are some differences for diagnosis and age for boys. Little boys under the age of 10, 50% with anorexia, and that's about the only eating disorder a child may have under the age of 10, are boys. 50% are boys. However, in bulemia, in binge eating disorders, the percentage rises for men and boys being affected by an eating disorder, maybe up to 50%. So clearly, men are not protected. Nor are boys from an eating disorder. Now parents often ask me why is that. It's a girls disease, right? I think what's happening is that culture now has the same message to boys as to girls. Which is it's more important how you look than what you do and who you are. And that's tragic.



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Marcia Herrin, EdD, MPH, RD, LD



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