Can Sports Be A Cause Of Eating Disorders In Men?

The question of whether sports can cause eating disorders in men may seem unnecessary at first glance. After all, sports is about keeping fit and healthy, and would ideally never be the considered the cause of eating disorders in men as well as women.

However, there have been suggestions that men involved in certain specific sports stood a greater chance of becoming a victim of eating disorders than other sportsmen. Andersen first suggested this theory in 1995. He said that men involved in sports activities that required a strict control over body weight and dietary habits stood a greater chance of their attempts to keep their weight in check develop rapidly into an eating disorder.

The sports activities that have been identified as potential grounds for developing eating disorders include gymnastics, swimming, body building, rowing, dancing, equestrian events, and distance running. The need to keep one's weight in control, in certain men, soon becomes an obsession, rapidly deteriorating into an eating disorder.