Eating disorders in men are prevalent, but the treatment for male patients is still at an all time low.
According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, an estimated 10 to 15 percent of Americans with eating disorders are male.
New research published in BMJ Open suggests these estimates are likely too low since symptoms of eating disorders are poorly recognized in men.
According to Fox News, British researchers interviewed 39 individuals, including 10 men, between ages 16 and 25 about their experiences with eating disorders.
For the men, it reportedly took months - or even years - to recognize certain associated behaviors, including going for days without eating, purging and obsessive exercising.
Male participants revealed that their delayed recognition was caused by the assumption that eating disorders only affected women.
Other reasons included a fear of not being taken seriously by health care professionals, or they didn't know where to go for help. Many of the men who participated did visit their doctors, but it took several visits before they were taken seriously.
Study authors stated, "It is important to decouple the experience and (self) management of eating disorders from feminized cultural imagery, resources and clinical practice if we wish to prevent men from (dis)missing signs and symptoms themselves, and prevent health and other professionals (e.g. teachers) from overlooking signs and symptoms in boys and young men that they may readily recognize as indicative of eating disorders in young women."
Co-authors, Ulla Raianen of the University of Oxford University, and Kate Hunt of the University of Glaslow wrote, "Men with eating disorders are under-diagnosed, under-treated and under-researched."
Attorney and activist Brian Cuban is an expert on eating disorders, having suffered from anorexia, bulimia, and body dysmorphic disorder for 27 years.
Cuban said to men currently suffering from eating disorders, "No matter how alone you feel, there is someone out there who loves you and wants to help you. You are not alone."
