“I had Anorexia at 7 years old” – His story for Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2023.

It is “Eating disorder awareness week” in the UK and the focus this year is on males (1). In the UK, 25% of people with an eating disorder are male, this is 1 in 4 cases (2). Whilst the desire for females is typically “thinness”, for males the desire is more focused on leanness and having a defined muscular appearance (5). Common phrases like, “he just loves to workout” and “he’s just going though a phase” are common for men, with symptoms often going unnoticed (1).

There is a mental health stigma around males with eating disorders which often means that the recovery process is further into the depth of their eating disorder. As a result, their recovery can be more challenging and more specialist treatment will be required (2, 5). According to eating disorder research charity Beat, 4 in 5 men said that with more awareness, men would be able to get treatment sooner (1).

Anorexia nervosa (AN) accounts for 10% of eating disorder cases in the UK and is often associated with adolescent females (2, 6). However, it can develop as early as 6 years old and as late as 70 years old. Men account for 0.3% of AN cases worldwide however, due to the stigma associated with the illness, the number could be higher (3).

Today I have the pleasure of speaking to a 60-year-old gentleman who developed AN aged 7 years old.  He never sought help for his illness but managed to recover from AN around the age of 17 years old. Despite his recovery from AN, he has lived with disordered eating ever since.

Interview:

When did you first notice your relationship with food wasn’t quite right?

Around the age of seven. I went through a phase where I particularly rejected meat and I became difficult to feed. I was taken to the doctors on more than one occasion.

Were there any specific triggers that you feel started your unhealthy relationship with food?

I find it hard to remember but I think one reason was due to an experience I had. I used to visit family who lived opposite a butcher’s shop and I was made to go to the butchers and get the meat. The man took me through the back of the shop where I saw the meat on hooks. I haven’t eaten meat since.

In addition, my mother was a poor eater and I wonder if that rubbed off on me. She has always been rather restrictive and particular with foods, and I wonder if that had an affect on me as a child.

Later in life I developed OCD, which was around contamination. Part of that was related to food, if someone had touched meat or fish, I would hate it if they touched anything. I became obsessed with meat and contamination.

You said about seeing a doctor, did they help at all?

It was a long time ago and things were very different then but they tried psychological methods, but it wasn’t helpful and I’m not sure what exactly they were doing. The Doctor was very eccentric and the methods he used were bizarre, to be honest, but there wasn’t mention of any disordered eating or similar.

Did you ever seek help?

No.

Why did you make that decision to not seek help?

I suppose I never thought I needed it as a child. Things got easier as I got older, still very limited with foods, but I accepted it and I was comfortable with it. It went beyond meat and fish, there was an element of texture too, I don’t know why but I don’t like the texture of certain vegetables.

The choice of food in the 60s was limited, and meals were meat and two veg. I associated them together, meat and vegetables and I think that may be part of it. I ended up with a very limited and poor diet. There is much more variety these days.

Would you say your diet is better now?

Yes, much better. It is still limited but I do eat a lot more now, in terms of salads.

Did your family/ friends notice anything? Did you have any support when you were at your worst?

Yes, but after a while it became accepted, and you lose enthusiasm to resolve it. Moving forwards, it was learning how to manage it. It’s the same with the OCD, it was never spoken about when I was young.

Do you feel your relationship with food may have changed if you had spoken to someone?

I don’t feel it was understood at the time. Nowadays, yes, I feel it would have helped massively but back then, there wasn’t the support.

Are there any areas around food that you still struggle with today?

I do but I cope a lot better.

What do you think helped you the most to recover from your time with anorexia?

When I was young, I played a lot of sport up until around 7 or 8 years old. When that stopped, I gained a lot of weight and was overweight. I was very aware of it, and I restricted what I was eating to the point where I’d have been classed as anorexic. I started playing sport again around 17 years old and my diet improved, it became more balanced and I wanted to eat better to improve my sport. Whilst it was still limited, I was able to regain weight and eat much better.

Do you feel your relationship with food impacts your life significantly now you’re an older adult?

Yes. Not as much as a child but it still has a significant impact. I’ve never felt overjoyed with food, I’ve never had strong feelings around being overjoyed with food. Going out for a meal is quite an ordeal, especially with lots of people around.

Did your relationship with food change when you had children?

Yes. My wife and I decided to bring our children up to eat like my wife, eating all foods. I think my diet improved, I played a lot of sport and I think my diet generally (although not ideal) was better balanced at that point.

Do you feel there is a stigma around males and disordered eating?

I think there has been, more so than females. Society is accepting that females go through more hormonal changes than men and women with ED’s are more accepted.  I feel there’s more pressure on women than men, to look a certain way, but mental health in general needs to be talked about more, especially with men.  

This years, “eating disorders awareness week” is about raising awareness for males with ED’s. 4 in 5 males say that with more awareness they feel that men would get help sooner. Do you feel that is true for you?

For me I was able to get better from AN and maintain a diet that was manageable for me. It reached a point where I accepted how I was but for some people that doesn’t always happen.

What would be your advice to someone reading this who may be struggling with an eating disorder?

I think firstly to talk about it as openly as you can with people that you trust and try and get support and help.

A big thank you for being open and honest, whilst talking about a topic that can be sensitive.

I hope this discussion can shine a light on eating disorders in men and help in some way.

Note: names are kept confidential.

Refs:

1. Beat (2023) Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2023 Available at: Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2023 (beateatingdisorders.org.uk) (Accessed: 01 March 2023)
2. The Priory Group (2022) Eating Disorder Statistics. Available at: Eating Disorder Statistics UK | Priory (priorygroup.com) (Accessed: 23 February 2023)
3. Van Eeden, A. E., van Hoeken, D., & Hoek, H. W. (2021). Incidence, prevalence and mortality of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Current opinion in psychiatry, 34(6), 515.
4. Beat (2023) How many people have an eating disorder in the UK? Available at: How many people have an eating disorder in the UK? – Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk) (Accessed: 23 February 2023)
5. Gorrell, S., & Murray, S. B. (2019). Eating disorders in males. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, 28(4), 641-651.
6. Borgers, T., Krüger, N., Vocks, S., Thomas, J. J., Plessow, F., & Hartmann, A. S. (2021). Overcoming limitations of self-report: an assessment of fear of weight gain in anorexia nervosa and healthy controls using implicit association tests. Journal of eating disorders, 9(1), 1-11.