Eating disorders are mental illnesses and affect men
By Leslie Medina
Contrary to what is believed in the media, research shows that eating disorders are actually mental illnesses that affect all types of people, not just women but also men.
It’s been proven by many studies that eating disorders are mental illnesses for two reasons: having thoughts/feelings that cause unhappiness and experiencing suffering in daily life.
Kimberly Finney is an expert at the University of Southern California who specializes in many things including eating disorders.
“Eating disorders are an illness because of the persons’ relationship with food,” Finney said.
Food plays a big role in an eating disorder because they often revolve around it, which makes it a symptom. Some common signs of eating disorders are a change in personality, lack of self care that includes risky behaviors/choices, and a change in mentality. Finney’s advice for anyone dealing with an eating disorder is to seek treatment and ask for help.
Studies have also shown that women are more likely to experience an eating disorder than men but that doesn’t mean that men don’t also suffer with them. Men don’t usually want to open up about their insecurities or mental/health problems, but seeing as this was a serious topic some of them decided to open up and talk about their experiences.
While out walking his dog and greeting every person that he saw, 63-year-old Al Withings talked about his experience with eating disorders. Having been the oldest out of 5 kids and having to deal with not being in the best shape when he was younger, led to him being single for most of his life.
It wasn’t until his mid to late 30’s where he learned to just accept the fact that he was overweight. It’s also when he said he felt the most happy because not only did he meet his future wife but he also learned that what he was doing his entire life was not healthy.
Withings said that most of his siblings growing up were all much healthier and in better shape than he was and he always compared himself to them. When asked if he agrees that eating disorders are mental illnesses, Withings said absolutely.
“Eating disorders are not just about food and your state of mental health, but they’re also about how clothing fits on the body and the types of people surrounding that person,” Withings said.
On Withings’ personal journey with body image he claims that what really triggered the start of his “eating disorder” was how tight his shirts and pants were fitting. Seeing as how everyone else was at a healthy point in their lives and he wasn’t, only made him angrier and more desperate to be like everyone else.
He started exercising privately as he was really embarrassed by what he was doing and even his late mother noticed his drastic, unhealthy change in his eating habits.
Withings was never diagnosed with anything until his 40–50’s, when he was told by his doctor that he was obsese and really needed to lose weight. At that point,Withings thought to himself, “I can’t do it anymore.” He told his doctor about what he had been dealing with his whole life and how he had lost a little bit of weight before but in a very unhealthy way.
His doctor told him that those were signs of an eating disorder and it was good that he had recovered from such a dark period of time but seeing as how this was a jump into the past, he decided to give him some tips.
Walking his dog was a big part in helping him lose weight and telling his immediate family what he was gonna do.
He’s the happiest he’s ever been because he’s finally at a healthy weight and he’s finally able to do all the physical activities he wants to do with his family and grandchildren.
26-year-old Alex Marroquin was walking around the beach when he tells his story.
His story begins during his sophomore year of high school. Marroquin says that before he came out as gay, he had trouble accepting how most of his friends were always going to the gym and working out.
This made him feel as if he wasn’t enough and would never be able to have a relationship with anyone if he didn’t look a certain way. He started working out at the gym intensely, so much to the point where he realized it was affecting his school, personal, and families’ lives.
Marroquin says that it took a few years before he really found himself. That’s when he decided to be himself and not care about what others think.
