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“Eating disorders affect people of all genders. Forget stereotypes that suggest they mainly impact women; research shows that men and nonbinary people also struggle with eating disorders. Rates among men are rising … misconceptions and lack of awareness can delay diagnosis and treatment.”
Open Mental Health, February 2025
Eating Disorders have increased among people of all backgrounds and while the prevalence among men and boys has often been underrepresented, recent statistics from NICE and others have shown that a greater focus will need to be given:
“At least 1 in 4 people affected by eating disorders are men. Yet many struggle to ask for help (and are often met with disbelief when they do).”
Beat Eating Disorders, February 2025
In this extended masterclass we will look at the contributing factors to eating disorders in men and boys including social media and masculine body ideals:
“A lot of content on social media that provided a real challenge for girls in terms of positive body image and what it meant to be a perfect girl or a woman in our society - those challenges are now applying to men and boys in similar if sometimes different ways.”
Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, May 2025
“We need to understand each individual's physiology as well as psychology before we embark on a one-size-fits-all approach. Men describe that they no longer feel like they're male. So there's a huge amount of psychiatric, as well as physical comorbidity that contributes toward the successive mortality.”
Dr Clive Kelly, Medical Consultant, South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, August 2025
We will also be hearing from professionals who work in eating disorder services and learning how they navigate the challenges of gender stereotypes and societal stigma preventing men and boys from receiving treatment. The conference will include the lived experience of men who have experienced treatment for eating disorders in the healthcare system:
“The idea that people living with an eating disorders are primarily teenage girls or that people with an eating disorder are always very thin is outdated and misleading. They can affect anyone of any age, any gender, any weight and from any background. Eating disorders do not discriminate.”
Dr Rob Bale, Consultant Psychiatrist and Interim Chief Operating Officer for Mental Health and Learning Disability at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, February 2025
This extended masterclass will enable you to:
Network with colleagues who are working to improve services, practice and treatment to reduce eating disorders in underrepresented groups
Discuss the national data and evidence base currently on eating disorders in men, and use this to direct and target services where access to care is hindered
Reflect on the lived experience of men with eating disorders and why men are underrepresented in eating disorder services
Understand the impact of traditional masculinity norms on mental health
Understand how societal biases play a role in eating disorders among men
Improve how the health care system approaches eating disorders in men
Reflect on the impact of weight loss medications on eating disorders
Understand why different eating disorders appear at different rates among different backgrounds
Reflect on insights from service providers and the unique challenges in addressing eating disorders among men and boys
Identify key strategies for destigmatising help-seeking behaviour for men
Understand how the influx of weight loss medication is influencing eating disorders
Understand the relationship between male body image and mental health
Self assess and reflect on your own practice
Supports CPD professional development and acts as revalidation evidence. This course provides 5hrs training for CPD subject to peer group approval for revalidation purposes
