15 July,2011 11:22 AM IST | | ANI
Experts have warned that the pressure to look like a male model is driving more men to develop dangerous eating disorders.
Medical experts blame the surge on an obsession with looking good by having bulging biceps and a six-pack stomach.
Figures released by British health service (NHS) have shown a 66 percent increase in hospital admissions in England for male eating disorders over the last decade.
A spokesman for the charity Beat said the rise could be attributed to the struggle to attain a "perfect" body shape.
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"Sufferers can become obsessed with their weight or they can obsess over exercise and with how many calories they are eating," the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.
"Exercise is a major factor with eating disorders in men in particular. They become obsessed with exercising every single day, if not more, and it can take over their life without them realising there may be a more deep-seated reason behind it.
"That is when it becomes an eating disorder. The pressure these days on guys to have the perfect figure is very similar to that which has and continues to affect women.
"It''s all about losing body fat and getting a six pack, and it comes from the way the male shape is portrayed. That perfect figure can be a healthy body image for a man to aspire to; it is when it gets taken to an extreme that we see problems," she added.
Bulimia affects three times as many people as anorexia, but it can be more difficult to spot as the sufferer may not lose weight in the same way.
