Sociocultural Plenary: One Size Does Not Fit All: The Spectrum of Male Eating Disorders

Despite increased recognition of eating disorders among males, the eating disorder field remains fundamentally tied to a historical conceptualization that these are essentially a “female” concern. This has resulted in a female-centric diagnostic, aetiological and treatment models which alienate males with eating disorders, contributing to poor treatment-seeking and long-term suffering. Research on body image and eating disorders in males has gained steady traction over the past decade, including the 7 years since a plenary addressing male was last included in the ICED schedule. This research has posed and addressed critical questions to clinicians and researchers in the eating disorder field, including but not limited to: are men “catching up” to women in eating disorder prevalence? Do men with eating disorders experience a greater burden than women? Do our diagnostic criteria adequately capture clinically significant disturbances in body image, eating and weight control among males (and if no, how can we make it better?)? Is muscle dysmorphia better classified as an eating disorder? Why is there a mismatch in the gender ratio for eating disorders in the population versus the clinic? With the increasing recognition of diversity in prevalence and presentation of disordered eating behaviors comes a need for understanding the etiology, course, treatment and specific needs for males. This plenary will address these questions and pose ideas on how we can move forward to translate the growth in knowledge of the male eating disorder experience into innovations in the prevention, health promotion, and treatment spheres, to reduce health burden and disparities.

This course is based on the video, Sociocultural Plenary: One Size Does Not Fit All: The Spectrum of Male Eating Disorders created by Scott Griffiths, PhD et al in 2020.