According to a new survey conducted in Britain, Anorexia primarily associated with the female gender is no longer confined to adolescent women but even young men seem to be affected with an increase of about 67% cases reported in the last 5 years.

Anorexia falls under the psychiatric diagnosis that describes eating disorder. An individual diagnosed with Anorexia eat less as they fear gaining weight, they have low body weight and body image distortion. Experts term this as a complex condition involving psychological, sociological and neurobiological components.

Thanks to the number of magazines and commercials that feature trim models, even men are falling prey to anorexia. The results of the survey are based on the data provided by the British government.

The data reveled that anorexia related cases had risen by 33%, the figures were higher in certain areas as compared to others. Anorexia cases in South East London had gone up by 246%, 360% in Durham and 139% in Yorkshire.

Susan Ringwood, the chief executive of eating disorder charity Beat said

“Rise in male anorexia actually masked a much bigger problem because men traditionally are less likely to seek help.

There has been a rise in focus on the body aesthetic and that’s affecting men as well as girls.

Clinics are seeing many more men, as well as children as young as eight. We know children are more likely to develop an eating disorder during puberty, and puberty is starting on average five years earlier than it did fifty years ago”