EATING DISORDERS IN COLLEGE MEN

Objective: This study was designed to assess the characteristics of me n with eating disorders in the community. Method: The authors recruite d 25 men meeting DSM-IV criteria for eating disorders and 25 compariso n men through advertisements in college newspapers. A second compariso n group comprised 33 women with bulimia nervosa who were recruited and interviewed with virtually identical methods. Results: The men with e ating disorders closely resembled the women with eating disorders but differed sharply from the comparison men in phenomenology of illness, rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders, and dissatisfaction with body image. Homosexuality did not appear to be a common feature of men wit h eating disorders in the community. Childhood physical and sexual abu se appeared slightly more common among the eating-disordered men than among the comparison men. Conclusions: Eating disorders, although less common in men than in women, appear to display strikingly similar fea tures in affected individuals of the two genders.