EATING disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are often seen as female problems. But of the 1.6million people in Britain who are thought to suffer from an eating disorder, 11% of them are men, according to BEAT, a charity working to raise awareness of eating disorders.
“I remember it like it was yesterday,” says former TV presenter Steve Blacknell of the day his battle with bulimia began, aged 24.
“It was a warm summer’s day in 1976 and I was lunching with some important record execs on a generous expense account.
“I had just landed a glamorous job at a big record company in London and was working with bands like the Moody Blues, Jethro Tull and Steely Dan.
“But I was nervous. I’d always been a bit flabby, and in this business, with thin pop stars, it paid to be thin, too. So after I’d eaten my prawn cocktail starter, I went to the toilet and threw it all up.
“Then I did the same with my main course and dessert. I still don’t know what triggered it exactly, but it felt good.
“It felt like a handy tool I could use to bring out now and again to control how much I was eating and how I looked.”
Speaking out about his experience in support of Eating Disorders Awareness Week on February 22-28, Blacknell says he had always struggled with his weight and began bingeing when he was in his teens.
“But it was at this job that it all began to spiral. I’d find myself looking at my tummy all the time and weighing myself.
“If I had a function to go to, I’d stay in for three or four days and not eat. I’d drink coffee all day, take a laxative and rope myself to my bed so that I wouldn’t get up in the middle of the night to eat.
“My girlfriend at the time (now wife) would even help me padlock the door to the kitchen at night – sometimes finding me perched over her begging for the key in my sleep.”
According to research at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London, eating disorders affect people of all cultures and ages, although they are most common in young women aged between 15 and 25.
The exact cause is usually a combination of triggers and can include stress, low self-esteem, the death of someone close, problems at work or university, sexual or emotional abuse or difficulties in family relationships.
Former deputy prime minister John Prescott, for example, admitted in 2008 that it was stress that led him to become bulimic while in government.
Blacknell, who used to host the BBC pop show, Riverside, thinks it was stress and low self-esteem that led to his “desperation to look thin”.
Most men with eating disorders tend to want to look healthy, says Mary George, of BEAT.
“Males with eating disorders tend to focus on the ‘body beautiful’ and the typical ‘healthy body’ of the six-packed figures on men’s health magazines, and will over-exercise and cut down on their food to attain that image,” she says.
But for Blacknell, who says he’s usually the exception to every rule, found that no matter how thin he was, he was never thin enough.
“I’d already lost about four stone, but then the worst happened: I became a TV presenter,” he says.
“Telly adds about eight pounds to your image, and I was so desperate to look thin on my first day that I remember throwing up my lunch 30 minutes before I went live.”
Blacknell became what he calls “anorexic-bulimic”, going without eating for long periods of time and then bingeing.
“I couldn’t bear to eat in front of people, so I’d order a takeaway for five people, scoff it all down and then throw it up in an alley.
“But I was in control. My bulimia had become part of my routine, and I was good at it.
“I used sprays in the toilet to cover up the smell of vomit and regularly sucked breath mints – and no one guessed a thing.”
However, the constant retching was taking a toll on his body. Blacknell’s windpipe was ruptured, his oesophagus damaged and his stomach constantly cramped from excessive bile and acid.
He was also suffering from depression. When his girlfriend suggested acupuncture, he finally noticed a change.
“After about four to five months of regular acupuncture, I realised I no longer had cravings to binge or purge,” he says.
“I went on telly and talked about my addiction – something I hadn’t even told my parents – and it felt great.”
Blacknell has only relapsed twice since, the last time in 1985, although he still suffers from issues with food.
“I still can’t eat big meals in front of people and prefer to eat alone or with my wife,” he says.
“And, to be honest, I still feel like I’m fat, but it doesn’t matter as much to me any more. I just feel so lucky to have the friends that I do and the support that I have. The fact that so many men suffer in silence is just appalling.”
All of us need to eat to survive. But when eating is used as a coping mechanism, whether to cheer you up when you are feeling bored, angry, hurt, lonely or anxious, or to help you cope with stressful or painful situations, it can become a problem.
It is thought that about half of people with an eating disorder suffer from obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders that date back to childhood. Research also shows that an individual’s genetic make-up may play a part in predisposing a person to an eating disorder.
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the most common eating disorders, although binge eating and compulsive overeating also exist. Treatments can include cognitive-behavioural therapy and depend on the person and disorder.
The health effects of eating disorders range widely. Research from the Institute of Psychiatry shows that a quarter of all people with eating disorders go on to develop a chronic illness. Damage to bones, osteoporosis, fertility problems, an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, intestinal problems and kidney damage are all common.
The brain can also be affected, leading to long-term changes in metabolic processes and thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
“An eating disorder is a mental illness – not a diet or fashion fad gone wrong,” says George.
“Unfortunately, it’s usually seen as a teenage-girl disease and, as a result, there’s a lot of stigma attached to it.
“But eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness – 20% of those suffering from one will die, either from suicide or organ failure – so it’s essential for anyone who thinks they might have a problem to seek help.”
To get further information or to get support for eating disorders, contact BEAT – phone 0845 634 1414, or visit www.b-eat.co.uk