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Prevention of Eating Disorders in Boys and Men

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Eating Disorders in Boys and Men

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Abstract

While research on eating disorder (ED) prevention has traditionally focused on female populations, growing recognition that eating and appearance-based disorders do occur in boys and men has led to an increase in body image interventions and eating disorder prevention programs for boys and men. Research to date has tested prevention programs delivered as early as elementary school through young adulthood, using in-person and Internet-based delivery modalities. In this chapter, we review programs that have included boys and men in (1) school-based prevention programs, (2) in-person prevention programs, (3) Internet-based prevention programs, and (4) dual prevention programs targeting weight and EDs. Although many programs have helped reduce risk factors for EDs, such as body dissatisfaction, only a few programs have demonstrated the ability or potential to prevent ED symptoms and, particularly, ED onset. Across studies, the lack of measurement of male-specific constructs (e.g., muscularity) and the tendency for mixed-gender programs to lack content relevant to boys and men highlight the need to design male-specific programs with appropriate assessment measures. We end the chapter with future directions for the field of eating disorder prevention in populations of boys and men.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Brown is a master trainer for the Body Project Collaborative.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Illinois Wesleyan University, Department of Psychology, Bloomington, IL, USA

    Marie Nebel-Schwalm

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Tiffany A. Brown

  3. San Diego State University Research Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA

    Tiffany A. Brown

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  1. Marie Nebel-Schwalm
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  2. Tiffany A. Brown
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Correspondence to Tiffany A. Brown .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Jason M. Nagata

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Tiffany A. Brown

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, USC Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Stuart B. Murray

  4. Department of Medicine, Military Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (MiCOR) Program, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, The Metis Foundation, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Jason M. Lavender

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Nebel-Schwalm, M., Brown, T.A. (2021). Prevention of Eating Disorders in Boys and Men. In: Nagata, J.M., Brown, T.A., Murray, S.B., Lavender, J.M. (eds) Eating Disorders in Boys and Men. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67127-3_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67127-3_13

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