Rightardia has talked about Ricky the Rightard before. When he was in middle school, he went out for football. He was convinced the team he was on wasn't successful because his teammates needed to left more weights to compete.
When Ricky entered high school, he wanted an Olympic weight set. He also talked about "bulking up" and the need to be bigger. However, he no longer played football.
Compulsive exercising and binge eating are the other ED--eating disorders. Men are more likely to engage in these particular disorders than women.
Many men don’t want to be skinny. They want muscle and some try to eat more to get that muscle mass because they don’t know how to gain muscle the right way.
Some may may "bulk up" because they think they are too skinny. These men may have a body image problem.
A Harvard study indicated 40 percent of men with eating disorders are binge eaters. Eating disorders among men often go unreported or undiagnosed. Current statistics probably fall short of actual figures.
Guys like to “bulk up,” usually for sports.
This is a form of compulsive eating wherein one eats uncontrollably, ignoring or misreading the body’s natural hunger signals.
Their desire to excel in sports can easily lead to unhealthy eating and over-exercising. A study conducted by Cornell University found that 40 percent of football players engaged in some kind of disordered eating.
There also may be pressure to gain weight in other sports like wrestling.
It can be hard to separate eating extra to bulk up, and to eating too much which is unhealthy.
Males often develop ED's at older ages than females. Males want to be strong and powerful and to build their bodies so they can be successful. Women on the other hand, slim down to get the same results.
Males when asked if they had a magic wish they mention power money, success, rich lifestyle, or to bulk up.
What are some of the triggers that produce male EDs?
- Being bullied/teased in childhood,
- Being bullied/teased for being overweight
- Low self esteem
- Genetics,
Body builders are more into body image than weight lifters. The latter are generally far stronger.
In Ricky's case, the bulking up stated in his teens and continued into his forties.
When he was 17 the owners of a store laid Ricky off be cause they said he was stopping every 15 minutes to eat while on the job.
In his 30s, he was going to work in the morning with grocery bags of food. He was eating at his desk continually.
In his present job, the operations manager insisted that no one at the office would be allowed to eat food at their desk, probably because of Ricky's ED.
What is the end result of Ricky's eating disorders?
- high blood pressure
- high triglycerides
- abnormal lipids (cholesterol)
- anxiety attacks
- tachycardia
- Premature ventricular contractions (PVC)
- probable hyperthyroidism
Don't underestimate male EDs. Watch out for young men who continue to bulk up after the sports season has ended.
In the case of Ricky, he has a great deal of anxiety. The weight lifting reduced his anxiety.
Ricky is now on an anit-anxiety medication and a beta blocker. He has a medical appontment with his endocrinology for the hyperthyroidism and will probably be put on medication such as methimazole and propylthiouracil (PTU) which interfere with the production of thyroid hormones.
Men who have EDs after high school may need psychological help. It also common to see the overeating linked with excessive exercise such as weight lifting.
The irony is that many of these men with EDs have been involved in sports much of their lives and end up being unhealthy.
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