MANOREXIA: What is it, Causes, Symptoms, Consequences and Treatment

Anorexia is a serious eating behavior disorder that mainly affects girls in the middle and late teens, although it can occur in other age ranges. In addition, this eating disorder can also occur in men, something that is not always evident and that in many contexts is still taboo. Manorexia, a neologism coined to refer to anorexia suffered by men, has increased in recent years due to factors such as the pressure exerted by social networks or the dictatorship of the cult of the body that is still present in different areas of the society. Do you want to know more about this reality?

In this Psychology-Online article we will explain what is manorexia, what are its symptoms and its main consequences, as well as the treatment indicated for this eating disorder.

Index

1. What is manorexia?
2. Causes of manorexia
3. Symptoms of manorexia
4. Consequences of manorexia
5. Manorexia treatment

The concept of manorexia has been coined to refer to those

Men with this disorder have abnormally low body weight, a great fear of gaining weight, and a distorted perception of it. It is also worth highlighting the high proportion of homosexual men affected and a difference with respect to anorexic women; the men become more obsessed with physical exercise to lose weight, while in the case of women the usual thing is to resort to practices such as vomiting.

As in the rest of the Eating disorder, the cause of manorexia is formed by two major factors: personal vulnerability and social pressure to meet certain standards of beauty.

There are various causes that have been raised as responsible for the incidence of manorexia cases in recent years. On the one hand, among the sociological causes are the new models of the "perfect" man that have been forged in the media and society: muscular types as a synonym of success in all aspects of life and an ideal of masculine beauty focused exclusively on physical care.

On the other hand, there are other series of psychosocial factors that can be triggers for manorexia, such as parental obesity, an event traumatic (death or illness of a loved one), school failure, separation or abandonment parental. However, there is a consensus in affirming that social factors, in reference to design companies and advertising campaigns in the media, are responsible for promoting a ideal of masculine beauty very far from reality current.

The main symptoms of manorexia are the following:

• The person refuses to maintain a weight above what is appropriate for her age and height.
• Sudden need to eat less food than required or to lose weight.
• Distorted perception of one's own body and weight.
• Excessive worry by the calories ingested and by the way food is prepared.
• Intense fear to gain weight.
• Vomiting, nausea and feeling of fatigue.
• Use of traps and deceptions to avoid eating food.
• Anxiety, hypothermia and / or hyperactivity.

Here you will find the psychological symptoms of anorexia.

The consequences of manorexia include several problems derived from a poor diet and sudden weight loss include:

• Cardiovascular disorders
• Decreased bone mass
• Decreased intestinal motility
• Anemia
• Chronic constipation
• Constant feeling of cold
• Dry and dehydrated skin
• Yellowing of the palms of the hands
• Hair loss
• Dental problems

Malnutrition is added to all these physical consequences, which in turn can lead to immune system disorders, with an increase in infections. When the loss of muscle mass is greater than 40% there is a great risk of collapse of functions basic physiological conditions, and the response and recovery capacity of the person with manorexia decreases significantly.

On the other hand, manorexia has psychological and social consequences such as:

• Affection of self-esteem
• Mood impairment with symptoms such as sadness and irritability
• Well-being affected by the feeling of constant dissatisfaction
• Anxiety
• Isolation or less social contact

It should also be borne in mind that the consequences of a disorder such as manorexia can be really serious, such as death in the most extreme cases.

The indicated treatment for manorexia consists mainly in tackling nutritional problems (with the help of doctors, nutritionists, etc.) and, of course, approach the eating disorder from the point of view psychological. The objective is make the person aware of the problem and recognize your illness, which is essential for cognitive and behavioral change to occur, and to prevent future relapses. Psychological therapy will help the person to modify your irrational beliefs (such as that beauty is synonymous with thinness or that to be successful you need to have a good body) and to have more realistic thoughts.

After starting treatment, the prognosis of manorexia is highly variable. Two thirds of patients need several years to overcome the problem (between 3 and 5), in a third of them one or more will persist various symptoms and, in 5% of cases of manorexia, the disease becomes chronic, with the clinical and psychosocial consequences that this carries.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Manorexia: what is it, causes, symptoms, consequences and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

• Raju, L. B. (2000). Males and eating disorders: one man's search. European Eating Disorders Review, 8(4), 332-333.
  
• Rueda, J. G. (2006). Eating disorders in men: four clinical subtypes. Colombian Journal of Psychiatry, 35(3), 352-361.