I have always wondered why the fellas never seemed to suffer from anorexia. Body image issues perhaps are not as important to men as they are for women. However, I did not matter whether you were a boy or a girl when you were at school the overweight kids always got plenty of stick for being fat. I was a fat kid and I am a fat adult.
So, I can speak with relative authority about getting plenty of stick at school for being overweight.
I was also pretty sporty and played lots of sports. So, I guess this kept the weight in check a little.
That said, I wonder whether I go to the gym now because I have body issues or just because I want to keep a little fit so that I can live long enough to see the Kid grow into a man. I think it is because I wanna see the Kid grow into a man. If it was a body issue thing then I would be eating to a different pattern. I eat fairly clean.
Anyways, I was scanning through the Sydney Morning Herald the other day and came across this article on "manorexia" which is a term coined to describe anorexia in men. It is estimated that more than 7 million Australians are overweight or obese. Yes, this is somewhere around one-third of the population is heavier than it should be according to current guidelines.
In NSW it is estimated that 1 in 10 adults and 1 in 4 children that are suffering from anorexia are male. This means that the vast majority of those suffering from anorexia remain women, at least in cases that are being reported. Apparently, photos like the one above encourage eating disorders in boys as they strive to look like a male model.
Postscript:
This post has been modified slightly from the original post. The figures regarding anorexia in the original post were mistyped. This has been rectified.
