UNSEEN AND UNSPOKEN THE RISE OF EATING DISORDERS IN MEN

More men are living with eating disorders than ever before — but stigma and misdiagnosis keep them invisible

- Words by Shannon Manuel

FOR DECADES, the public face of eating disorders has been overwhelmingly female — young, white and fragile, often captured in the shorthand of a cultural stereotype. Behind that narrow lens, a quieter epidemic has been growing: men are suffering too, in rising numbers. Across continents and clinical studies, the data tells a starkly different story from the one society still clings to.

Globally, experts estimate that at least 25% of people with eating disorders are male, though research suggests the true figure could be closer to 40%, hidden behind misdiagnosis and stigma. In the US, the National Eating Disorders Association reports a steady increase in male diagnoses of anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder over the last decade. In the UK, National Health Services (NHS) data shows men make up almost a third of new referrals to eating-disorder services. In Australia, admissions for men under the age of 30 have more than doubled since 2010.

South Africa is no exception. While there is no comprehensive national registry, private healthcare providers and specialist clinics are quietly observing the same pattern. Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor, Cape Town, is one of the country's few facilities dedicated to eating-disorder recovery. Here, they have seen a marked increase in male admissions in recent years — a change mirrored by psychologists and dietitians in private practice. “We're seeing more men than ever before, often after years of silent suffering,” one clinician notes. “They come in exhausted, not just physically, but emotionally, after realising that the behaviours they thought were ‘healthy’ have taken over their lives.”