Body Image, Eating Disorders, & Boys

07/27/23 • 31 min

Body image concerns and eating disorders affect boys too.

As many as 75% of adolescent boys are dissatisfied with their bodies. 3% are now using steroids in an attempt to alter their bodies, 7% use supplements, and a 2019 study found that 1 in 5 guys aged 18-24 had an eating disorder due to a desire to enhance muscles.

Boys, like girls, need help developing a healthy body image and healthy habits.

Eating Disorders May Be Missed in Boys

To date, the “vast majority of body image and eating disorder research has focused on thinness and weight loss, particulary in females. Very few people are doing research on or have a great understanding of body image pressures for boys, which often drive young people to be more muscular, bigger, and bulkier,” says Jason Nagata, MD, MSc, associate professor of pediatrics in the division of adolescent and young adult medicine at UC – San Francisco.

While still in medical school, Nagata met a 16 year old boy who was a wrestler.

“He’d been suffering for years, checking his weight and himself in the mirror several times a day. His parents thought something wasn ‘t right, so they brought him in to his primary care pediatrician, who eventually brought him into the eating disorder clinic,” Nagata said.

Two-and-half-years, however, had elapsed before the boy was diagnosed with an eating disoder, and during that time, he “suffered a lot and had some pretty serious medical complications that required hospitalization,” Nagata says.

At the time, there was “almost nothing in the literature” about boys & eating disoders, and the guidelines for medical management of eating disorders focused on girls & women.

Eating disorders in boys & men may also be missed because many unhealthy behaviors — such as fasting for 24 hours or sweating off water weight — are “completely normalized” in certain sports

How Eating Disorders Present in Boys

“Because the masculine ideal has become increasingly large and muscular, many boys are doing muscle-enhancing behaviors” to try to achieve that, Jason says.

Signs of an eating disorder in boys may include:

Overconsumption of protein while restricting carbs & fat
Using supplements to increase muscularity
Excessive or compulsive exercise

Finding Help for Eating Disorders & Body Image Concerns

If you suspect your son may struggle with disordered eating or excessive exercise, schedule an appointment with your son’s primary care provider.

Unfortunately, “there’s a lack of training on eating disorders in general, and even more so for eating disorders in boys and men,” so you may need to very explicitly share your concerns and suspicions with your provider, and advocate for appropriate assessment.

In this episode, Jen & Jason discuss:

The 3 biggest influences on boys’ body image
How eating disorders present in boys
Conditions that may predispose boys to muscle dysmorphia and eating disorders
Seeking help for eating disorders
Protein overconsumption
Dietary supplements
Supporting healthy habits
Long-time health impact of eating disorders

Links we mentioned (or should have) in this episode:

nagatalab.ucsf.edu — Nagata Lab website (includes links to research & news articles about eating disorders in boys & men, screentime in adolescents & young adults, & much more)

Helping Boys Develop Healthy Body Image — ON BOYS episode

Boys & Body Image — ON BOYS episode

Boys Get Eating Disorders Too — ON BOYS episode

National Eating Disorder Association — includes links to help

Sponsor Spotlight: TonieBox

Use code ONBOYS to save 15%

Sponsor Spotlight: Essential Labs

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Sponsor Spotlight: Indipop

Subscription-based healthcare

Body image concerns and eating disorders affect boys too.

Boys, like girls, need help developing a healthy body image and healthy habits.

Eating Disorders May Be Missed in Boys

While still in medical school, Nagata met a 16 year old boy who was a wrestler.

At the time, there was “almost nothing in the literature” about boys & eating disoders, and the guidelines for medical management of eating disorders focused on girls & women.

Eating disorders in boys & men may also be missed because many unhealthy behaviors — such as fasting for 24 hours or sweating off water weight — are “completely normalized” in certain sports

How Eating Disorders Present in Boys

“Because the masculine ideal has become increasingly large and muscular, many boys are doing muscle-enhancing behaviors” to try to achieve that, Jason says.

Signs of an eating disorder in boys may include:

Overconsumption of protein while restricting carbs & fat
Using supplements to increase muscularity
Excessive or compulsive exercise

Finding Help for Eating Disorders & Body Image Concerns

If you suspect your son may struggle with disordered eating or excessive exercise, schedule an appointment with your son’s primary care provider.

In this episode, Jen & Jason discuss:

The 3 biggest influences on boys’ body image
How eating disorders present in boys
Conditions that may predispose boys to muscle dysmorphia and eating disorders
Seeking help for eating disorders
Protein overconsumption
Dietary supplements
Supporting healthy habits
Long-time health impact of eating disorders

Links we mentioned (or should have) in this episode:

nagatalab.ucsf.edu — Nagata Lab website (includes links to research & news articles about eating disorders in boys & men, screentime in adolescents & young adults, & much more)

Helping Boys Develop Healthy Body Image — ON BOYS episode

Boys & Body Image — ON BOYS episode

Boys Get Eating Disorders Too — ON BOYS episode

National Eating Disorder Association — includes links to help

Sponsor Spotlight: TonieBox

Use code ONBOYS to save 15%

Sponsor Spotlight: Essential Labs

Use code ONBOYS to save 15%

Sponsor Spotlight: Indipop

Subscription-based healthcare

Previous Episode

How to Be an Unflustered Mom

Yes, you can be an unflustered mom.

Identifying your anxiety style is the first step, says Amber Trueblood, a mom of four boys (currently ages 10, 12, 14, & 15) and author of The Unflustered Mom: How Understanding the Five Anxiety Styles Transforms the Way We Parent, Partner, Live, and Love.

“Anxiety is not one-size-fits-all. It doesn’t look the same for everybody,” Amber says. “What you’re trigged by is going to be different for what triggers someone else emotionally.”

Five Anxiety Styles

Amber says there are 5 primary anxiety styles:

The Fighter. Fighters “see themselves as survivors and protectors,” Amber says. They are compelled to act if they perceive a problem, and tend be more comfortable in chaos & challenge than in peace.
The Visionary. Visionaries are all about making a deep impact on the world. They feel anxious when others don’t understand (or see) their vision, or when life events prevent progress.
The Dynamo. Dynamos want achievement, recognition, and respect. They tend to be do-ers.
The Executive. Executives are driven by the need to feel emotionally safe. They are forward-thinking planners and organizers.
The Lover. Lovers are driven by relationships. They want and need to feel loved, appreciated, and valued.

Each has different emotional triggers and responds best to differing interventions and coping strategies. Each also has superhero traits that you can harness.

Learning how to manage your anxiety style can help you be a better, more effective parent.

“The more that you can be unflustered, the better you’re going to sleep and take care of your physical health. You’ll be able to think more clearly and respond more thoughtfully, consciously, and purposefully in every area of your life,” Amber says.

“You can have all the best parenting tools on the planet, but if you’re walking around like a cyclone of emotional instability, fear, anger, regret, and self-doubt, it’s really hard to be the best parent you can be.”

In this episode, Jen, Janet, & Amber discuss:

The 5 anxiety styles
Coping strategies tailored to your anxiety style
Life lessons for each anxiety style
Jen & Janet’s anxiety styles
How managing your anxiety can make you a better parent

Links we mentioned (or should have) in this episode:

The Unflustered Mom: How Understanding the Five Anxiety Styles Transforms the Way We Parent, Partner, Live, and Love –– Amber’s book

ambertrueblood.com — Amber’s website (includes the quiz to identify your anxiety style)

Mathew Blades on Healing Generational Trauma — ON BOYS podcast

Sponsor Spotlight: Indipop

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Sponsor Spotlight: McEvoy Ranch

Use code ONBOYS15 to save 15%

Sponsor Spotlight: Baby Foot

Get an exclusive offer with code BOYS20

Sponsor Spotlight: Essential Labs

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Sponsor Spotlight: Tonies

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Sponsor Spotlight: Baby Quip

Use code ONBOYS for $20 off your reservation of $100 or more.

Next Episode

Phyllis Fagell Discusses Middle School Superpowers

Middle school students are “superheroes in the making,” says Phyllis Fagell, a school counselor, mom, and author of Middle School Superpowers: Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times.

If that sounds crazy to you, consider this: middle schoolers and superheroes “both get catapulted out of a world they know and sent on a jarring (& occasionally scarring) journey. At the start...they’re strangers to themselves and can feel as if their own bodies have betrayed them,” Phyllis says.

Middle School Boys Need Time to Mature

Remember: boys’ mature cognitively, physically, and emotionally at a different pace than girls. Generally speaking, boys take longer to mature, so it’s not fair (or helpful) to expect tween boys to consistently think, act, and behave in a mature manner. Many middle school-aged boys have difficulty regulating their emotions, organizing their spaces and time, and communicating with others, but that doesn’t mean those same boys won’t grow up to be amazing humans. They simply need time to grow — and appropriate love and support.

“Middle school boys are not the final product,” Phyllis says. “Their skills are still developing, they’re still figuring out who they are, and what they need and can give. Our job is to approach them with curiosity, rather than judgment.”

“Super Bounce” & How Boys Can Learn From Mistakes

Although their actions and behavior may suggest otherwise, “every middle school boy wants to do the right thing, wants to be seen as capable and kind and compassionate,” Phyllis says. “They do not want adults [or their peers] to think poorly of them.”

Their impulsivity and immaturity sometimes (maybe even often) leads them to behave in ways that hurt others (or themselves). While it’s important to not shield boys from the consequences of their actions, punishment is not the best way to help middle school boys learn from mistakes or poor choices.

“If you are too harsh or punitive — especially if the consequence doesn’t match or have any kind of logical connection to whatever the mistake was — that kid is going to get stuck in shame,” Phyllis says. “We want them to learn, not get so stuck or paralyzed that they can’t learn.”

Instead of berating boys for their actions, encourage self-reflection and restitution. One question that can help boys self-reflect on their behavior: Were you your best self?

In this episode, Jen, Janet, & Phyllis discuss: