He had looks to die for, a hunky male model with a totally ripped body, a six-pack with bulging muscles and Hollywood good looks.
It's frightening to imagine that the frail and emaciated man INSIDE EDITION spoke with is the same person. Jeremy Gillitzer is virtually skin and bones; his skin is paper thin.
Gillitzer is fighting for his life.
The 36-year-old Minnesotan, who weighs a dangerous 92 lbs., says, "I do want to live, definitely." Gillitzer is battling anorexia. Only 1 in 10 anorexics is a man. A popular term being used is "manorexic."
"I want to inspire everyone, but especially men," he tells INSIDE EDITION. "Males have the same pressures as females as far as maybe not being skinny, but looking ripped and muscular."
Gillitzer was an adorable, healthy little boy, and grew into a ruggedly handsome young man. His friends suggested he model. Though he says he was nervous in front of the camera, Gillitzer appeared in numerous ads, many featuring his athletic body.
"It was never good enough," he says. "I felt the need the need to be perfect in my body shape and size and muscles."
Nutritionist Joy Bauer doesn't treat Gillitzer, but says that obsession over body image is a common trigger in male anorexics. "The same way that women are looking at magazines and rail thin models, men are looking at those very same magazines, men with six-packs and ripples of muscles."
Gillitzer says he slipped into anorexia's deadly grip after suffering a string of personal setbacks. He began combining an almost fanatic exercise routine with a near-starvation diet.
Toward the end, he says, he ate half an apple and half a sandwich all day. "I'd have a few bites that was it." Soon, the muscles disappeared and his body took on an emaciated look. His hair thinned and his teeth began falling out.
Gillitzer says he went online looking for other guys with the eating disorder, but says he found mostly women. He says one woman even taught him how to binge and purge. He says his faith is helping him to turn his life around. His refrigerator is now full of food and he's starting to eat more. His portions are small, but it's a big step.
"People ask me, 'Don't you want to look like you did in those pictures?'" Gillitzer says. "I'd rather be happy than buff. Life is looking better."
Isabella over at Change Therapy put up this great post on anorexia in men, an often overlooked reality, but one that is rapidly increasing as men (or young men) feel more pressure to look like the guys on the covers of the men's fitness magazines. Anorexia in men (just as is true in women) is often comorbid with sexual abuse
Anorexia isn't just a disease that females suffer from. "Manorexic" models are the "it" thing in the fashion world, and with competition so high to look good these days, anorexia is here to stay!
Not Just a Girl Problem
Although fewer men than women suffer from eating disorders, a new study indicates that the number of men with anorexia or bulimia is much higher than previously believed. Despite this, men, whose treatment needs are the same as those of women, do not seek help and, therefore, do not get adequate treatment.
"[Eating disorders] have been seen largely as an issue affecting women, and because of that, I think men have been far less likely to identify themselves as affected by it or to seek out treatment -- much in the same way as men with breast cancer tend to show up in breast cancer clinics much, much later," says the study's author, D. Blake Woodside, MD.
Because there are few large studies of men with anorexia and bulimia, Woodside, who is with the department of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, evaluated and compared 62 men and 212 women with eating disorders with a group of almost 3,800 men with no eating disorders.
Although more than twice as many women as men had eating disorders, there were more men affected than would be expected, suggesting that the occurrence of eating disorders may be higher among men than the current National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders estimates. According to the group, men are thought to make up about 1 million of the 8 million Americans with eating disorders.
In terms of symptoms and unhappiness with their lives, there was little difference between men and women with eating disorders. Both sexes suffered similar rates of anxiety, depression, phobias, panic disorder, and dependence on alcohol. Both groups also were much more unhappy with how things were going in their lives than men with no eating disorders.
Woodside says his study supports the assumption that anorexia and bulimia are virtually identical diseases in men and women.
A number of reports in the medical literature suggest that gay men account for a significant percentage of male anorexia. Woodside's study did not look at this issue, but he says it should be studied further to rule out whether gay men may simply be more likely to seek treatment for anorexia, though not necessarily more likely to suffer from the disorder than heterosexual men.
"Perhaps it may have a bit of a 'snowball effect,' because men may feel if they come forward they will be thought of as homosexual, even if they are not," Woodside says.
Another expert who treats eating disorders says society has a tendency to glamorize eating disorders while at the same time making fun of the people who have them.
"The media and society believe it's all about these beautiful models trying to lose weight, when that's really not what eating disorders are about," says Mae Sokol, MD. "They're less about food and eating and much more about people's sense of self-esteem and identity and who they are."
Sokol says anorexia may be less noticeable in men than women because men can still have muscle mass even though they are thin.
"In fact, it's more dangerous for men to develop anorexia nervosa than for females ... because when males get down to the lowest weight ranges, they've lost more muscle and tissue, whereas [fat] is something you can lose for a period of time without repercussions," says Sokol, a child and adolescent psychologist at Menninger, a psychiatric hospital in Topeka, Kan.
Despite the media's focus on anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders, Sokol says that men are still brought up to believe it's not something that's supposed to happen to them.
"The public thinks of it as a 'girl disease,' and these guys don't want to have to come out and say, 'I have a girl disease.' Plus, to have to come to a [treatment facility] where most of the patients are women -- they don't feel good about that at all," she says.
Woodside agrees that feeling uncomfortable may be a big part of why men are less likely to go for help for an eating disorder.
"I think, for a lot of them, it's definitely a case of 'Do I fit in here?' when men come in [to a treatment center]," he says.
In an editorial accompanying Woodside's study, Arnold Anderson, MD, writes that men seeking treatment "are often excluded from programs by gender alone or are treated indistinguishably from teenage girls."
Anderson, of the department of psychiatry at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinic in Iowa City, says more research comparing men and women with eating disorders is welcomed because it will help identify factors that may lead to different treatment approaches.
The study appears in the April issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The following links display articles related to Anorexia Nervosa. Check them out!
Anorexia Vs Obesity in North America...
Generation XXS or Generation XXL?
This site shows the comparisons and differences of Anorexia and Bulimia. Worried about being too thin or too over weight? Losing weight to maintain a healthy lifestyle is great, but losing too much can lead to serious health problems. http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/health/Anorexia-Vs-Obesity-in-North-America.html
What to know how to become anorexic? Sounds crazy, but people can actually get tips and advice on how to be thin. This Site explains concepts from "Thinspiration" to "punishments" when thinking about eating, all to gain a thinner body and lifestyle. http://everything2.com/title/How+to+become+a+better+anorexic
Articles related to anorexia and how the media influences our lifestyle decisions can be found on this site. People all over the world are becoming obsessed with being thin and staying thin at a younger age each year. This Article is about the adolescents of Australia and how the media portrays the disorder. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_157_40/ai_n13774349/?tag=rbxcra.2.a.55
There is no single cause of anorexia nervosa. Several different factors are usually involved in producing this disorder.
Cultural Pressures
In many societies, being extremely thin is the standard of beauty for women and represents success, happiness, and self-control. Women are bombarded with messages from the media that they must diet to meet this standard. However, this idealized ultra-thin body shape is almost impossible for most women to achieve since it does not fit with the biological and inherited factors that determine natural body weight. This conflict leaves most women very dissatisfied with their body weight and shape.
More recently, pressure has also increased on men to be lean and muscular. In addition, in certain occupations (such as dancing, modeling, and sports like gymnastics, figure skating, running, and wrestling), the pressure to maintain a specific weight and appearance is especially strong.
Psychological Issues
Psychological characteristics that can make a person more likely to develop anorexia nervosa include:
Low self-esteem
Feelings of ineffectiveness
Poor body image
Depression
Difficulty expressing feelings
Rigid thinking patterns
Need for control
Perfectionism
Physical or sexual abuse
Avoidance of conflict with others
Need to feel special or unique
People with anorexia nervosa often appear emotionally driven not only toward weight loss, but also in other areas of their life, such as schoolwork, physical fitness, or career. It has also been suggested that in some cases of anorexia nervosa, self-starvation may be a way to avoid the sexual and social demands associated with adolescence.
One of the problems in determining which traits may cause anorexia nervosa is that the weight loss itself causes certain psychological disturbances to develop. These may include depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, obsessive thinking, feelings of inadequacy, social withdrawal, and personality changes. Thus, some of the traits that occur in anorexia nervosa may be a result, rather than a cause, of the disorder.
Family Environment
Some family styles may contribute to the development of anorexia nervosa. Families of people with the disorder are more likely to be:
Overprotective
Rigid
Suffocating in their closeness
In these cases, anorexia nervosa develops as a struggle for independence and individuality. It is likely to surface in adolescence when new demands for independence occur.
Other characteristics of families that may increase the chance of developing anorexia nervosa are:
Overvaluing appearance and thinness
Criticizing a child's weight or shape
Being physically or sexually abusive
Genetic Factors
Anorexia nervosa occurs eight times more often in people who have relatives with the disorder. However, experts do not know exactly what the inherited factor may be. In addition, anorexia nervosa occurs more often in families with a history of depression or alcohol abuse.
Life Transitions
Life transitions can often trigger anorexia nervosa in someone who is already vulnerable because of the factors described above. Examples include:
Beginning of adolescence
Beginning or failing in school or at work
Breakup of a relationship
Death of a loved one
Dieting and losing weight can also set off anorexia nervosa.
Perpetuating Factors
Once anorexia nervosa has developed, several factors can perpetuate the disorder. These factors include:
Symptoms of starvation
Other people's reactions to the weight loss
Emotional needs filled by feelings of self-control, virtue, and power from controlling one's weight
The resulting cycle makes it more difficult to stop the disorder and become healthy again.
Additional Sources Of Information
Here are some reliable sources that can provide more information on anorexia.
Organizations
National Eating Disorders Association
Phone: (206) 382-3587 Hotline:
Phone: 1-800-931-2237
A non-profit organization that runs a toll-free hotline providing information on eating disorders and referrals to services. Develops educational and prevention materials and programs. Sponsors Eating Disorders Awareness Week in February.
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD)
Phone: (847) 831-3438
Oliviero Toscani's Nolita billboard ad featuring Isabelle Caro
Model, Isabelle Caro, an anorexic who weighs just 55 pounds, has become the face of anorexia. Her eating disorder stems from a bad childhood and has gone on for more than 13 years of her frail life. She stripped bare for an Italian campaign against anorexia. But the billboard that stunned the world does not even depict Caro at her thinnest. She commented on posing for the campaign...
"I thought this could be a chance to use my suffering to get a message across, and finally put an image on what thinness represents and the danger it leads to -- which is death...to make people react, for young girls who see this to think: 'Oh, so that's what lies behind the beautiful clothes, the hair, the image that we are shown of fashion.'"
Isabelle Caro, close-up from Nolita billboard ad, September, 2007
"I’ve hidden myself and covered myself for too long. Now I want to show myself fearlessly, even though I know my body arouses repugnance. I want to recover because I love life and the riches of the universe. I want to show young people how dangerous this illness is."
Isabelle, 2007
Caro's anorexia began when she was 13. Her mother, she says, was seriously depressed and her father was largely absent. She spent her childhood in isolation, home schooled and kept away from others.
"I had a very complicated childhood, very difficult, very painful," she said. "My mother's big phobia was that I would grow. She spent her time measuring my height. She wouldn't let me go outside because she'd heard that fresh air makes children grow, and that's why I was kept at home. It was completely traumatic."
Isabelle, 2007
Her trauma crystallized into illness as she watched her mother struggle with a 70-pound gas canister. She gives an account of what she remembers.
"She said, 'Do you know how heavy this is?' " Caro said. "I weighed 10 pounds more, and I kept thinking 'I'm heavier than that heavy gas cylinder so I am a burden on my mother.' And that's when I thought about wanting to lose weight, to stop my growth. I dropped to about 58 pounds. My meal was reduced to two squares of chocolate and five cornflakes. That's all I ate all day."
Isabelle's psychological issues developed with her interactions with her mother. She realized that if she were heavy she'd be a burden. She wanted acceptance and never felt like there was anything she could do to gain that feeling of love.
"That Christmas [when Isabelle was 13 years old] I asked for some scales. I saw I'd dropped a few pounds so I started eating less and less. My parents were so worried I spent hours weighing myself that mum broke my scales."
"I'd panic if I even put on a few grams. I rejected everything I wanted and everything that made me happy for some ideal of a pure life. It was an absolute hell - that's what this disease does to you."
Caro, 2007
"Back then I had a very close relationship with my mother, which led me down the path of anorexia. She wanted me to be her little girl for ever. So as I started puberty I hated the idea that my body was going to change. I wanted to have the body of a child for ever, to make my mother happy."
When asked about her self-image in an interview, she seemed to be aware of how other people really saw her. People often just stare...
"A skeleton. I see a skeleton. But one on the road to recovery. I know that it will take time, but I would rather go slowly and surely rather than gain weight rapidly and then fall back into losing it again," she said. "I have to get used to how I look with more weight."
Caro, 2007
"I have suffered enormously from the way people look at me. When I first moved to Marseille, nobody spoke to me, people stared at me. I stopped going out of my house. In cafes and bars they refuse to serve me. And that's why I refused to talk about it for such a long time. I was so afraid of people judging me. People just think you just stop eating but that is not what anorexia is. You don't just decide from one day to the next to stop eating. It's very hard. It's real suffering, and it goes deep."
Isabelle, 2008
"When I see myself now, I say, 'what a horror.' I'm trying to get out of it, and I want young women to know that is possible."
"Thinness leads to death and it is anything but beautiful. You start out with this feeling as if you can master everything, that you are in total control, and then little by little you fall into this hellish spiral, a spiral of death."
Isabelle was hospitalized for the first time when she was 20. At her worst, in 2006, she slipped into a coma, weighing just 51 pounds. It took a coma and her almost dying to realize that she wanted to live and start doing something about it.
Caro, 2007
"I'd have painful cramps every morning and I would crawl to the fridge to eat something just so I had enough strength to get in the shower. And then my body was so tender and so ravaged by needles from the transfusions that every drop of water hurt."
In 2008, Caro began her recovery.
Isabelle, 2008
"Every day I fight the demons of anorexia... I'm eating more calories every day and it's really hard, but I know I'll make it."
"I still eat almost nothing, but I've stopped vomiting. I have started to distinguish tastes of things. I have tried ice-cream - it's delicious."
A brief overview of the eating disorder known as Anorexia...
What is Anorexia Nervosa?
Anorexia nervosa, commonly referred to simply as anorexia, is one type of eating disorder. More importantly, it is also a psychological disorder. Anorexia is a condition that goes beyond out-of-control dieting. A person with anorexia often initially begins dieting to lose weight. Persons with this disorder may have an intense fear of weight gain, even when they are underweight. Not eating enough food or exercising too much results in severe weight loss. Over time, the weight loss becomes a sign of mastery and control. Anorexia ultimately results in starvation and an inability to stay at the minimum body weight considered healthy for the person's age and height.
This outrageous eating disorder starts out with the drive to become thinner, and is actually secondary to concerns about control and/or fears relating to one's body. The individual continues the endless cycle of restrictive eating, often accompanied by other behaviors such as excessive exercising or the overuse of diet pills, diuretics, laxatives, and/or enemas in order to reduce body weight. This cycle becomes an obsession and, in this way, is similar to any type of addiction.
Symptoms
-People with anorexia may severely limit the amount of food they eat, or eat and then make themselves throw up. They may also use water pills (diuretics) and laxatives to lose weight.
-Most individuals with anorexia nervosa do not recognize that they have an eating disorder.
Behaviors that may be noticed in a person with anorexia include:
Cutting food into small pieces
Exercising compulsively
Going to the bathroom right after meals
Quickly eating large amounts of food
Restricting the amount of food eaten
Using laxatives, enemas, or diuretics inappropriately in an effort to lose weight
Symptoms may include:
Blotchy or yellow skin
Confused or slow thinking
Dental cavities due to self-induced vomiting
Depression
Dry mouth
Extreme sensitivity to cold (wearing several layers of clothing to stay warm)
Fine hair
Low blood pressure
No menstruation
Poor memory or poor judgement
Significant weight loss (15% or greater below normal weight)
Wasting away of muscle and loss of body fat
Who is at risk for anorexia?
* Approximately 95% of those affected by anorexia are female, but males can develop the disorder as well. While anorexia typically begins to manifest itself during early adolescence, it is also seen in young children and adults. In the U.S. and other countries with high economic status, it is estimated that about one out of every 100 adolescent girls has the disorder. Caucasians are more often affected than people of other racial backgrounds, and anorexia is more common in middle and upper socioeconomic groups. According to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), an estimated 0.5%-3.7% of women will suffer from this disorder at some point in their lives.
* Conservative estimates suggest that one-half to one percent of females in the U.S. develop anorexia nervosa. Because more than 90 percent of all those who are affected are adolescent and young women, the disorder has been characterized as primarily a woman's illness. It should be noted, however, that males and children as young as seven years old have been diagnosed; and women 50, 60, 70, and even 80 years of age have fit the diagnosis. Some of these individuals will have struggled with eating, shape or weight in the past but new onset cases can also occur.
Berkman ND, Bulik CM, Brownley KA, Lohr KN, Sedway JA, Rooks A, Gartlehner G.
Management of eating disorders.
Evid Rep Technol Assess (Full Rep). 2006 Apr;(135):1-166. Review.
PMID: 17628126 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
