Health News
2007-04-12
Gay men at higher
risk for eating disorders
A new study of
New York City residents shows that gay and bisexual men
may be at a much higher risk for eating disorders than
A new study of
New York City residents shows that gay and bisexual men
may be at a much higher risk for eating disorders than
heterosexual men, reports Reuters.com.
Yet lesbian and
bisexual women and their heterosexual counterparts are
equally affected by eating disorders.
Researchers
surveyed over 500 people; 126 were straight men, and the
rest were women and men who were gay or bisexual. The
study found that over 15% of the gay or bisexual men
had at one time had anorexia, bulimia, or a
subclinical eating disorder. Fewer than 5% of heterosexual
men have had eating disorders, reports the
International Journal of Eating Disorders.
Eight percent of
heterosexual women reported ever having an eating
disorder, compared with just under 10% of lesbian and
bisexual women.
Matthew Feldman
of the National Development and Research Institutes and
his colleague Ilan H. Meyer found that men who were active
on sports teams or other recreational groups involving
gay or bisexual men were at an elevated risk of
developing an eating disorder. Men who reported
feeling close to the gay community, however, had a lower
risk of current eating disorders. (The
Advocate)
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