Men have eating disorders, too!

It’s true that eating disorders are more common among the fairer sex but you can’t ignore its prevalance among males as well. Also, usually the latter sex are not forthcoming about their problems, especially if they’re celebrities, as it might make a dent in their macho image. And so, it’s not very often that male celebrities admit to suffering from eating disorders.

Gender disparity?

Eating disorders are serious life-threatening conditions that affect both men and women, damaging their emotional as well as their physical well-being.

“There’s been an alarming rise in the number of people falling prey to these disorders. Just a decade ago, it was the women who felt an extreme stress of keeping thin and looking beautiful, but men soon started to feel similar pressures — as the women did earlier — and many followed the easy footsteps of binge-eating and purging etc.”, informs Dr Anjali Chhabria, psychiatrist and psychotherapist.

With scrutiny on social media, every person is kind of a celebrity in their own right and everyone is conscious of how they look. “Gender disparity among the sexes is being eliminated on all fronts. Celebrities are far more exposed and scrutinised, and it’s not restricted to the female gender alone. The pressure to look good is equal for both the sexes”, says consulting nutritionist and clinical dietitian, Pooja Makhija.

Case in point

Makhija, who has encountered many cases of males with eating disorders, agrees that men aren’t willing to admit that they have problems because it might affect their macho image. “Men find it difficult to even say ‘sorry’ and admitting to a problem like an eating disorder is a huge thing,” she says. Recently, she’s been dealing with two male clients from the TV and film industry with eating disorders and says that they aren’t even aware that they have an eating disorder. “They think it’s a part of making efforts to look good. There has to be more awareness in India about eating disorders,” she advises.

Dr Chhabria, too, has dealt with cases of male clients with eating disorder. She recounts one such case, “This muscular model was struggling for few years and felt he was unfit. He  would binge eat in depression. He fell into the trap of anorexia nervosa, one of the most common disorders, and he was brought in for help by his roommate. He had lost 20 kgs in the last one month and had become all rib and bones.” The aspiring model was admitted immediately and a proper psychiatric treatment was followed, that included pharmacy therapy including anti-depressants, as well as regular counselling sessions. Over time, he has become better and was being monitored for his weight gain.

Here’s a list of male celebs who fought their eating disorders...

Zayn Malik

This former One Directioner in his soon to-be released Zayn: The Official Autobiography, has revealed that he developed a ‘serious’ eating disorder, during his tenure with the band. “When I look back at images of myself from around November 2014, I can see how ill I was. Something I’ve never talked about in public before, but which I have come to terms with since leaving the band, is that I was suffering from an eating disorder,” Zayn has revealed. “It wasn’t as though I had any concerns about my weight or anything like that, I’d just go for days — sometimes two or three days straight — without eating anything at all. It got quite serious, although at the time I didn’t recognise it for what it was,” the 23-year-old singer has confessed. Malik has been battling anxiety issues and had cancelled his show in Dubai due next month citing he’s not “sufficiently confident”.

Dennis Quaid

Actor Dennis Quaid became obsessed with being skinny and developed anorexia after he lost 40 pounds in order to essay the character of a dying person in the movie Wyatt Earp (1994). “My arms were so skinny that I couldn’t pull myself out of a pool. I’d look in the mirror and still see a 180 pound guy, even though I was 138 pounds.” Quaid was quoted as saying to a magazine and added, “For many years, I was obsessed about what I was eating, how many calories it had, and how much exercise I’d have to do.” The actor later overcame his eating disorder after getting treatment.

Elton John

In 2013, this megastar confessed to Larry King that he had bulimia in the past. Elton revealed that his friend Princess Diana, who also had this eating disorder, often exchanged notes and helped him deal with it. “It was so nice to talk to someone — ‘Oh, you did that too?” the English singer admitted adding, “And she said it was so awkward to run to the toilet after the meal… It helps you feel not so bad about yourself, and it’s a little bit of camaraderie.” Besides bulimia, Elton also battled with cocaine addiction and went to rehab in 1990, after which, he overcame his demons.

Billy Bob Thornton

More famous for being Angelina Jolie’s ex-husband than his acting prowess, in 1998, Billy Bob Thorton revealed to Los Angeles Daily News that he “got anorexic” after doing the modern western neo-noir crime thriller film U-Turn (1997), and also developed psychological problems as he struggled with anorexia alone. “Frankly, for a while there, I think I had a little mental problem,” he said adding, “I got anorexic; of course, I denied it to my girlfriend [Laura Dern] and everyone else who said I had an eating disorder.” Thorton said that he lost 59 pounds, reducing from 197 pounds while doing U Turn to 138 pounds for the film Pushing Tin. Later, the bad boy gained some weight and is healthy now.

Richard Simmons

Who would have thought that this fitness guru had an eating order? In fact, since his childhood, Simmons was a compulsive eater. During his teens, he tried various methods to drop the pounds including starvation, using laxatives, diet pills, and binging and purging. Before his recovery, he was admitted to a number of hospital programmes. Luckily, Simmons got support from his family, friends and co-actors to stay strong.