澳大利亚男性进食障碍患者数量庞大但诊断严重不足。约36.5万名男性患有进食障碍，然而自2012年以来平均每年仅有不足2,500名男性被诊断，男性患者的漏诊率是女性的四倍[1]。虽然男性占进食障碍诊断病例的33%，但在相关实证研究中的比例不到1%，导致现有治疗项目难以有效服务男性患者——澳大利亚进食障碍治疗项目中90%以上的参与者为女性[1]。
社交媒体影响者推崇的肌肉理想体型成为推动男性进食障碍的重要因素。84%的12至18岁男孩希望自己更加肌肉发达，而过去25年中男性的身体意象不满意度已增加了三倍，从15%上升至45%[1]。研究人士Jackson Rose指出，社交媒体影响者"推崇围绕男性气质的理想"是最大驱动因素之一[1]。2019年奥运会运动员研究发现19%的男性运动员经历某种进食障碍[1]。
男性进食障碍患者面临严重的精神健康风险。约三分之一被诊断的患者会尝试自杀，凸显该问题的紧迫性[1]。
Approximately 365,000 Australian men are living with eating disorders, yet the condition remains vastly underdiagnosed in the male population [1]. Men are four times more likely to go undiagnosed compared to women, and fewer than 2,500 men have been diagnosed annually on average since 2012 [1]. This diagnostic gap reflects a broader failure of the healthcare system, as more than 90 percent of participants in Australian eating disorder treatment programs are female [1].
Social media influencers promoting muscular ideals tied to masculinity represent one of the primary drivers of male eating disorders in Australia [1]. Research indicates that 84 percent of boys aged 12 to 18 desire greater muscle mass, while male body dissatisfaction has tripled over the past 25 years, rising from 15 percent to 45 percent [1]. A 2019 Olympic athlete study found that 19 percent of male athletes experienced some form of eating disorder [1]. The research disparity is striking: men account for 33 percent of eating disorder diagnoses but represent less than 1 percent of relevant empirical studies [1]. For those diagnosed, the consequences are severe—one-third of patients have attempted suicide [1].