Homosexual and bisexual men may be at far higher risk for eating disorders than heterosexual men, according to a study conducted at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
In the first population-based study of its kind, the researchers found that homosexual and bisexual men have higher rates of eating disorders.
The findings are reported in the April 2007 issue of International Journal of Eating Disorders.
Researchers Ilan H. Meyer, PhD, associate professor of clinical Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health and principal investigator, and Matthew Feldman, PhD, of the National Development and Research Institutes and first author, surveyed 516 New York City residents; 126 were straight men and the rest were bisexual men and women.
According to the study results, more than 15 percent of homosexual or bisexual men had at some time suffered anorexia, bulimia or binge-eating disorder, or at least certain symptoms of those disorders — a problem known as a subclinical eating disorder, compared with less than five percent of heterosexual men.
In contrast, homosexual inclination did not seem to influence the risk of eating disorder symptoms among women.
Just below 10 percent of lesbian and bisexual women and eight percent of heterosexual women had ever reported having a subclinical eating disorder.
The study provides further evidence of the dangers involved with the homosexual lifestyle.
LifeSiteNews.com reported in March about a study which demonstrated that practicing homosexual men with HIV are 90 times more likely than the general population to develop anal cancer.
Other studies have found that in addition to eating disorders, homosexuals experience increased incidences of sexually transmitted diseases, cancer, psychological problems and addiction problems.
Related coverage:
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/mar/07032205.html
Abstract of the article in the International Journal of Eating Disorders: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/114099467/ABSTRACT
[16April07, NYC, John-Henry Westen, LifeSiteNews.com]