When you hear “eating disorder” do you think it’s a problem most associated with women?  That’s probably fair to say but a new report says a type of eating disorder is emerging that largely affects men.With all the focus on fitness, WebMD.com says many fitness buffs who are obsessed with bodybuilding, bulging biceps and "six-pack" abs are also overusing dietary supplements. A survey found that more than 40 percent of these men indicated that their use of supplements such as whey protein, protein bars, creatine and glutamine had increased over time.

Researchers say the problem is one of every five men said they replaced regular meals with dietary supplements --which are not intended to be meal replacements.

Eight percent of men got to the extreme that their physicians told them to cut back or stop using supplements due to actual or potential effects on their health. Three percent had been hospitalized for kidney or liver problems related to the extreme use of these supplements.

Why do they risk their health like this?   Men say they are using the supplements for many of the same reasons women turn to bulimia or anorexia. The “male standard of beauty” emphasizes big muscles and a lean frame and those men obsessed with their body image turn to supplements and exercise rather than fall into an eating disorder that would cause the body to waste away.

Time to reignite interest in the rounder safer

MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH/AFP/Getty Images
MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH/AFP/Getty Images
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