Tom R. struggled throughout his career in the Army to maintain the 180-pound weight requirement for his 5-foot 10-inch stature.
After he retired 18 years ago, his weight peaked at 300 pounds.
"After 30 years in the military, my eating habits didn't change," he said in a telephone interview. He asked that his last name be withheld because he is a member of Overeaters Anonymous, and the members promise to remain anonymous when discussing the program.
"I finally realized if I didn't do something, I was going to die," he said.
Now 65, he has one of the most common eating disorders - binge eating. But he has learned to control it and now weighs in at 200 pounds.
"Overeaters Anonymous is totally responsible for my weight loss," Tom R. said.
Binge eating and other eating disorders affect men, although not as often as they affect women. Binge eating is defined as eating every meal until one is uncomfortably full and eating too frequently, according to information from the Elisa Project on its Web site at theelisaproject.com.
The Elisa Project is a nonprofit organization in Dallas started by Rick and Leslie McCall in memory of their daughter, Elisa McCall, who died from anorexia nervosa. This refusal to maintain body weight has the highest death rate of any mental illness, according to the project.
According to WebMD.com, 5 percent to 20 percent of the people who have the disease eventually die from it.
Binge eating also can result in bulimia, in which people purge after eating.
According to a 2007 study conducted by Harvard Medical School involving 2,980 adults, 3.5 percent of women and 2 percent of men reported having a binge-eating disorder at some time in their lives.
This type of disorder was more common than anorexia, which 0.9 percent of women and 0.3 percent of men reported having, and bulimia, reported by 1.5 percent of women and 0.5 percent of men.
Media contribute to these numbers by putting emphasis on the body, which has caused a "culture shock," said Dr. Jim Harris, a physician at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas who treats males and females with eating disorders.
In almost every commercial, there's a male with a six-pack and toned arms, so males, teens especially, want to duplicate that image. That's a common way of developing an eating disorder, he said in a telephone interview.
The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders states on its Web site that 1 million of the 8 million Americans with eating disorders are males.
These studies may underrepresent males.
"Men in society are so reluctant to admit (an eating disorder) because there are so many females with the disease," said Christopher Athas, vice president of the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.
So how can people prevent themselves or a loved one from developing an eating disorder?
Lisa Calhoun, program director of The Elisa Project, gives these behaviors to look for: drastic change in eating habits, exercising excessively, skipping out of dinner when a favorite dish is served or repeatedly going to the restroom after dinner.
Tom R. said Overeaters Anonymous provided him with a support system.
"I have people I can call during the day for help," he said. "Realize you're not alone. Don't give up; seek help."
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