Boys as well as girls reported very similar perceived social pressures. These children have demonstrated an ability to reduce their anxiety about becoming fat by implementing early weight control behaviors. These weight control behaviors are believed linked to a sense of body dissatisfaction, guilt, and shame. One concern expressed involves the possibility of using more extreme measures, such as vomiting or using medication if the earlier methods fail or the pressure to be thin intensifies. Men typically have been excluded from eating disorder diagnosis.
Clinical reports show that about one out of ten patients with anorexia or bulimia are men.
Men are increasingly susceptible to body image concerns, partly because more advertising is targeted at them, psychologists say. American Psychological Association.