Five cases of male eating disorders in Central China.

OBJECTIVE

Despite the recent surge of eating disorders among women in large Asian cities, male eating disorder cases remain rare. The current article described 5 male eating disorder cases that presented within a period of 2 years in Wuhan, a city in central China.

METHODS

The authors described 4 cases of anorexia nervosa (2 restrictive, 2 bulimic) and 1 case of normal weight bulimia nervosa.

RESULTS

Fear of fat was reported for all 5 cases, and none of the cases reported homosexuality.

DISCUSSION: Sociocultural changes and westernization most probably accounted for the increasing incidence of eating disorders among male and female youngsters in China today.