At age 14, Matthew Lynch, like most teenage guys, cared deeply about his appearance. "I had some body image problems, but I didn't think I was fat," explains Lynch, who carried 135 pounds on his five-feet-four-inch frame. But when Lynch's sister and his best friend began teasing him about his size, his concerns escalated. "I was really embarrassed," admits Lynch. "The next day I started cutting back on my food and exercising more. And I read every article I could get my hands on about losing weight."

When Lynch's high school tennis coach suggested he lose 10 pounds to improve his agility on the court, his dieting spun out of control. By the time Lynch was 16, his weight had dropped to 80 pounds. A doctor sought out by Lynch's parents concluded that their son was anorexic.

Not Just for Girls

It's too simple to say eating disorders are just about food, because eating or not eating becomes a way of avoiding deeper psychological issues. The most common eating disorder in the U.S. is overeating, which affects both women and men, young and old. The eating disorders that are about not getting enough nutrition, however, are still thought of as "women's diseases." That's why guys often have a tougher time getting help for anorexia and bulimia (bingeing and purging) — not only because they're embarrassed, but also because resources for guys are scarce.

Treatment is important because the lack of nutrition associated with these eating disorders can lead to damage of the internal organs, sterility, and heart failure. While there are numerous support groups and treatment programs for teenage girls with eating disorders, there are few tailored to teenage guys.

This is because 90 percent of teenagers with eating disorders are girls. But guys are catching up. Just as girls have historically been bombarded with the message that you can never be too thin, guys are increasingly responding to the same signal.

Measuring Up

Unrealistic images of male masculinity in ads and magazines give guys the message that they just don't measure up — which promotes the idea that "thinness is the way to be happy, successful, make money, and have good relationships," according to Dr. Ted Weltzin, M.D., medical director of the eating disorders programs at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Wisconsin.

Dr. Weltzen also warns that guys with anorexia or bulimia may develop body dysmorphic disorder, a condition where guys (or girls) have a distorted image of their body or of a particular body part — he knows in his mind that he's thin or underweight, but when he looks in the mirror he sees a fat person staring back at you. To "remedy" this, the guy often goes beyond eating less; according to Dr. Weltzin, guys will also try to change how they look to themselves by exercising compulsively, which can be very dangerous.

Getting Help

Because of the "women's disease" stereotype, many guys think that they can't become anorexic or bulimic, or they may not recognize the symptoms. How do you know if you or someone you know might have an eating disorder? Here are some signs to watch for

  • self-starvation
  • abnormal weight loss
  • obsessive fear of gaining weight
  • compulsive exercise
  • sensitivity to cold
  • hair loss
  • binge eating
  • vomiting after eating
  • dizziness/fainting
  • mood swings
  • depression
  • insomnia

Although treatment specifically for guys with anorexia or bulimia is limited, there is hope. Matthew Lynch, now 24 and in college, has successfully recovered from anorexia, and many other men have too.