Body image and eating disturbance in African-American men who have sex with men: preliminary observations.
Research related to eating and body image disturbance in males has focused almost exclusively on Caucasian men. This preliminary study examined the prevalence of disturbed eating and body image symptomatology in a highly understudied and difficult to assess population-African-American men (n = 18) who have sex with men. Nineteen percent of the sample scored above clinical cut offs for possible eating disorders with 25% of the sample endorsing occasional or more frequent vomiting after meals. Use of appearance-changing supplements and substances were frequently reported. Although most body image measures were similar to norms, self-ideal discrepancy for muscularity was almost three times greater than male weightlifters. The implications of problematic body image and eating behaviors and the link between body image and high-risk sexual behaviors are discussed.
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. heinbel@ccf.org
Leslie J
LJ
Heinberg
Earl
E
Pike
Sana
S
Loue
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011581:Psychological Tests; D055815:Young Adult