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Anorexia is no longer just about girls, starving themselves to look thinner. Now at least one million men or young men are battling at the eating disorder. And for many it starts as a simple attempt to get fit, but it can quickly turn into a dangerous struggle for the perfect body.
It was in high school that Craig Laue first started obsessing about his weight. After years of being called the fat kid, he decided to take control and started shedding the pounds.
You get into high school, and not only did I wanna be a better athlete, but you wanna get attention from girls, and you wanna fit in. Everybody else is in shape, and I was always, you know, a pudgier kid with glasses.
Craig started exercising more and eating less, going from 210 pounds to as low as 113 in less than a year.
By the time baseball tryouts came, I had gotten so low that I eventually was cut from the baseball team, because I just...I didn't have the energy to keep up.
While eating disorders are most often associated with women, experts estimate that one million men in this country suffer from anorexia. Dr. Arnold Anderson is the director of the eating disorders unit at the University of Iowa, College of Medicine.
We're certainly seeing more eating disorders in men, some wanna be wiry thin Mick Jagger, some wanna be lean muscular Brad Pitt, James Bond, some wanna be big and chiseled, like Arnold, the Governor.
And while pop culture has flooded impressionable young women for years with glamourous images suggesting thin is in, now it is harder than ever for boys and young men to escape the quest for the perfect body.
You have these magazines where they are telling you, you know, this is the in-thing , this is the in-thing to wear, this is the way to look, this is the way to wear your hair, this is the way to get your, your 6 packed abs , this is the way to get girls' attention, this is the way to be hunky and sexy and dadada. . . at what cost?
Even some male celebrities have spoken out about battling anorexia. Actor Denis Kuid, who went from 180 pounds to 138, told Best Life Magazine in March that for many years I was obsessed about what I was eating? How many calories it had and how much exercise I'd have to do.
Look down here.
Denis.
Guys like Denis Quaid and Bill Bob, and they are in an industry that obviously places a huge premium on image and I think that's where you start to see problems popping up for those people taking shortcuts.
The good news is when caught early the disease can be treated with the right medical care. That was the case for Craig Laue, who after getting the proper mental health therapy, gained back much of the weight. Now at 30 years old, he is a well-known disc jockey, (A new rock from Disturbed, they're up next.) and a healthy 170 pounds.
I think some guys' egos may be the machoism, not want to do admit that. They have this kind of problem. It took me a long time to finally be able to talk about it.
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anorexia:a serious illness that makes you want to stop eating and that mainly affects young women. It full medical name is anorexia nervosa 厌食
place a huge premium on:to believe that a particular quality or activity is very important 对...非常重视
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