“I'm More Acknowledged”: A Qualitative Exploration of Men's Positioning of their Body Image, Eating, and Exercise Concerns

Abstract

Men who experience eating disorders are underrepresented in the body of research into eating disorders. Even less is known about men who may experience a troubled relationship with eating and their bodies but whose reported symptoms are subclinical. How do these men understand their experiences? And what does it mean for them to locate their experiences as either problematic or within the eating disorder discourse? This study is an in-depth qualitative exploration into the experiences of a community group of six men, all of whom self-identified as being concerned with their body, eating, and exercise habits. This study provides insight into some of the ways these men constructed and understood their relationship with their eating and their bodies and negotiated their identities in relation to these difficulties. These men struggled to find a language to position their experiences as problematic and frequently engaged in processes of minimization of these problems' significance, despite the problematic effects on their lives. These processes worked as restraints for these men in seeking assistance for their struggles. These findings have implications for ways to engage men who experience these struggles through tailored prevention or treatment programs.