Anorexia is a serious eating disorder that mainly affects girls in middle and late adolescence, although it can occur in other age groups. Furthermore, this eating disorder can also occur in men, something that is not always evident and that in many contexts remains taboo. Manorexia, a neologism coined to refer to the anorexia suffered by men, has increased in recent years due to factors such as the pressure exerted by social networks or the dictatorship of body worship that is still present in different areas of society. Do you want to know more about this reality?
In this Psychology-Online article we are going to explain to you What is manorexia, what are its symptoms and its main consequences, as well as the treatment indicated for this eating disorder.
What is manorexia?
The concept of manorexia has been coined to refer to those men who have anorexia. Although the term is not officially recognized in psychiatric manuals, it has been used more and more in the face of a reality that cannot be ignored, and that is that in recent years there has been a considerable increase in affected men for this eating disorder: .
Men with this disorder have an abnormally low body weight, a great fear of gaining weight, and a distorted perception of weight. It is also worth highlighting the high proportion of affected homosexual men and a difference with respect to anorexic women; the men They are more obsessed with physical exercise to lose weightwhile in the case of women it is common to resort to practices such as vomiting.
Causes of manorexia
As in the rest of the , the cause of manorexia is made up of two major factors: personal vulnerability and social pressure to meet certain standards of beauty.
There are various causes that have been proposed as responsible for the incidence of cases of manorexia in recent years. On the one hand, among the sociological causes are the new models of the “perfect” man that have been forged in the media and society: muscular guys as synonymous with success in all areas of life and an ideal of masculine beauty focused exclusively on physical care.
On the other hand, there are another series of psychosocial factors that can be triggers of manorexia, such as parental obesity, a traumatic event (death or illness of a loved one), school failure, separation or parental abandonment. However, there is a consensus in affirming that social factors, in reference to design companies and advertising campaigns in the media, are responsible for promoting a ideal of male beauty very far from reality current.
Symptoms of manorexia
The main symptoms of manorexia are the following:
- The person refuses to maintain a weight above what is appropriate for their age and height.
- Sudden need to eat less food than required or to lose weight.
- Distorted perception of one’s own body and weight.
- Excessive worry by the calories ingested and by the way the food is prepared.
- intense fear to gain weight.
- Vomiting, nausea and feeling of fatigue.
- Use of traps and deception to avoid eating food.
- Anxiety, hypothermia and/or hyperactivity.
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Consequences of manorexia
The consequences of manorexia include several problems resulting from poor diet and sudden weight loss, including:
- Cardiovascular disorders
- Decreased bone mass
- Decreased intestinal motility
- Anemia
- Chronic constipation
- Constant feeling of cold
- Dry and dehydrated skin
- Yellowing of the palms of the hands
- Hair loss
- Dental problems
To all these physical consequences is added malnutrition, which in turn can lead to immune system disorders, with an increase in infections. When the loss of muscle mass is greater than 40%, there is a great risk of collapse of basic physiological functions, and the response and recovery capacity of the person with manorexia decreases significantly.
On the other hand, manorexia has psychological and social consequences such as:
- Affected self-esteem
- Affected mood with symptoms such as sadness and irritability
- Affectation of well-being due to the feeling of constant dissatisfaction
- Anxiety
- Isolation or less social contact
It should also be taken into account that the consequences of a disorder such as manorexia can be really serious, such as death in the most extreme cases.
Manorexia treatment
The indicated treatment for manorexia consists mainly of addressing nutritional problems (with the help of doctors, nutritionists, etc.) and, of course, addressing the eating disorder from a psychological point of view. The objective is that the person is aware of the problem and recognize their illness, something essential for cognitive and behavioral change to occur, and to avoid future relapses. Psychological therapy will help the person modify your irrational beliefs (such as that beauty is synonymous with thinness or that to be successful you need to have a good body) and to have more realistic thoughts.
After starting treatment, the prognosis of manorexia is very variable. Two-thirds of patients need several years to overcome the problem (between 3 and 5), in a third of them one or more symptoms will persist and, in 5% of cases of manorexia, the disease becomes chronic, with the consequences clinical and psychosocial consequences that this entails.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Manorexia: what it is, causes, symptoms, consequences and treatmentwe recommend that you enter our category.
Bibliography
- Raju, L. B. (2000). Males and eating disorders: one man’s search. European Eating Disorders Review, 8(4), 332-333.
- Rueda, JG (2006). Eating disorders in men: four clinical subtypes. Colombian Journal of Psychiatry, 35(3), 352-361.