Making Weight: Men's Conflicts with Food, Weight, Shape and Appearance Book

The negative body-image epidemic that affects millions of women is also a hidden problem for millions of men. In spite of a decade-long emphasis on health and fitness - or perhaps because of it - more men are suffering from a variety of eating disorders and self-abusive behaviors. Using vignettes from their patients, the authors present a new program to help men overcome these problems. They offer ways to enhance self-image, facts about why diets fail, information about the dangers of using steroids, and a section for women who want to help the men in their life.

Library Journal

In the last 20 years, increasing numbers of men and boys have become obsessed with obtaining the perfect body exemplified by body builders, male models, and professional wrestlers. This excessive concern with appearance can lead to compulsive exercise, steroid abuse, eating disorders, and, in extreme cases, body dysmorphic disorder, a serious psychiatric condition. Acknowledging that few men will admit these preoccupations, the authors of these two books seek to bring these issues to a wider audience and to promote more realistic goals for male physique and fitness. Written in a popular, almost sensational style, The Adonis Complex discusses and summarizes research coordinated by Harvard researchers Pope (psychiatry) and Robert Olivardia (psychology) and Katharine A. Phillips (psychiatry, Brown Univ.; The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder). Pope and his associates first document changes in advertisements, Playgirl centerfolds, and toys such as G.I. Joe to demonstrate how the steroid-hyped male torso became an ideal beyond the capability of most men. They then report on results of a computerized body image test given to male college students that showed, across cultures, a dissatisfaction with physical appearance and a tendency to misjudge the physique desirable to the opposite sex. Using case studies and self-tests, the team goes on to describe and outline treatment for specific problems and dispel myths about weight and steroid use. Separate chapters address concerns for boys, gays, lovers, and friends. Andersen (psychiatry, Iowa State Univ.; ed., Males with Eating Disorders), Leigh Cohn (ed., Eating Disorders, the Journal of Treatment and Prevention), and Thomas Holbrook, a medical specialist, also address men's concerns with physical appearance, drawing attention to fat as a men's issue and focusing on obesity and eating disorders. After extended discussions on the developmental, social, and evolutionary factors contributing to appearance ad self-esteem, the authors provide "a proactive proposition for men who want to feel and look better" in "Ten Steps to Healthy Living," with advice on nutrition, exercise, relationships, and social and spiritual concerns. Holbrook relates his own story of recovery from eating disorders and excessive exercise. Courses of treatment are described, and a final chapter offers advice for families and loved ones. Both books give reading lists and resources on where to seek further help, and both are recommended for public library collections.-Lucille M. Boone, San Jose P.L., CA