Eating disorders are linked to women to a greater extent than men and previously it was said that only 10 percent of those who have eating disorders are men.
There are no really reliable figures, but today researchers often say that 20 percent of those with eating disorders are men.
But in the clinics, not even 5 percent of those seeking care are men.
- There may be an even stronger stigma around men and dieting, says Ata Ghaderi, professor of clinical psychology at Karolinska Institutet.
Healthcare misses men with eating disorders
According to him, shame is an important factor and that men more often have more difficulty than women in admitting to themselves that they have an eating disorder.
This means that they are not as inclined to tell that they have difficulty eating or starve - even when they seek care.
- This means that they may tell about the depressive symptoms they have.
Which means that they are diagnosed in that way and then you miss the eating disorder.
For professional boxer Anthony Yigit, eating disorders have been a part of his life for 13 years.
- The first thing I scan when I look in the mirror is how swollen I look, or how much I have gained weight, he says in the documentary series Eaten and also tells:
- I realized that if I vomited, I could eat ice cream without gaining weight.
“Striving for a sex pack”
Anna Bardone Cone is a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has researched men's eating disorders.
She sees some differences between what drives men and women.
- For women, the ideal of slimness dominates, so it is not really for men.
Men would probably say that they are striving for a sex pack.
In both sexes, people with eating disorders overestimate the importance of appearance.
- It plays such a big role in self-esteem that it gives a disturbing behavior that can lead to eating disorders, she says.
The documentary series "Eating Disorder" consists of three episodes that are released once a week. Watch it here on SVT Play.