Introduction

Problems related to eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and obesity turns out to be very common in the LGBT group. The paper presents a review of research in this field showing the relationship between the influence of the environment, homophobia and lack of tolerance to the problem presented in the topic and a scale of this problem occurring in the presented minority group.

Aim

The aim of the work is to draw attention to the scale of the problem and the specificity of the LGBT group in the field of eating disorders. Presenting factors which are a predisposition 

to such disorders, may be useful to medical staff, psychologists, educators and therapists dealing with the problem of eating disorders. Another aim is to create a scientific publication on the topic of sexual minorities, which is still lacking in comparison with foreign magazines in our country.

Brief description of the state of knowledge

LGBT group turns out to be a group with an increased risk of eating disorders. Gays are a group exposed to anorexia and bulimia. However, the group of lesbians has been defined with 

an increased risk of overweight and obesity. According to a review of contemporary research in this area, the problems related to nutrition are influenced by homophobia, lack of social acceptance, heterosexual and episodes of sexual abuse in childhood.

Conclusions

There is a huge need of knowledge for specialists dealing with eating disorders about the specificity of the LGBT group. Their greater competences can positively influence the prevalence of eating disorders in this group and positively influence the course of treatment 

of such people

Karolina Suwała

Katarzyna Urtnowska-Joppek

Kosma Kołodziej

Journal of Education Health and Sport

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Kołodziej Kosma, Urtnowska-Joppek Katarzyna, Suwała Karolina.  The perception of your body by homosexual  people.  Eatingdisorders.   Journal  of  Education,  Health  and  Sport.  2018;8(9):103-112.  eISNN  2391-8306.  DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1344921http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/5776The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part b item 1223 (26/01/2017).1223 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eissn 2391-8306 7© The Authors 2018;This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, PolandOpen Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike.(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.Received: 22.07.2018. Revised: 28.07.2018. Accepted: 14.08.2018.The perception of your body by homosexual people. Eating disordersKosma Kołodziej1, Katarzyna Urtnowska-Joppek2, Karolina Suwała31Katedra  i  Zakład  Neuropsychologii  Klinicznej  UMK  w  Toruniu,  Collegium  Medicum  w Bydgoszczy2Katedra Położnictwa,  Zakład Medycyny Rozrodu i  Andrologii  UMK w Toruniu,  CollegiumMedicum w Bydgoszczy3Zakład Biologii Układu Wzrokowego UMK w Toruniu, Collegium Medicum w BydgoszczySummary:IntroductionProblems related to eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and obesity turns out to be verycommon in the LGBT group. The paper presents a review of research in this field showing therelationship between the influence of the environment, homophobia and lack of tolerance tothe problem presented in the topic and a scale of this problem occurring in the presentedminority group.AimThe aim of the work is to draw attention to the scale of the problem and the specificity of the103LGBT group in the field of eating disorders. Presenting factors which are a predisposition  to  such disorders,  may be useful  to  medical  staff,  psychologists,  educators  and therapistsdealing with the problem of eating disorders. Another aim is to create a scientific publicationon the topic of sexual minorities, which is still lacking in comparison with foreign magazinesin our country.Brief description of the state of knowledgeLGBT group turns out to be a group with an increased risk of eating disorders. Gays are agroup exposed to anorexia and bulimia. However, the group of lesbians has been defined withan increased risk of overweight and obesity. According to a review of contemporary researchin this area, the problems related to nutrition are influenced by homophobia, lack of socialacceptance, heterosexual and episodes of sexual abuse in childhood.ConclusionsThere is a huge need of knowledge for specialists dealing with eating disorders about thespecificity  of  the  LGBT  group.  Their  greater  competences  can  positively  influence  theprevalence of eating disorders in this group and positively influence the course of treatment of such people.Key words: eating disorders, bulimia, homosexuality, gay, lesbian1041. IntroductionAccording to the research conducted in 2006, the incidence of eating disorders is 8 cases per100 000 people [1]. Eating disorders are a very common problem of young people duringpuberty. Research conducted in 2011 on Polish youth showed that 28% of them shows signsof  anorexia, and almost every tenth teenager provokes vomiting [2]. Statistically, women are90 to 95% of all people with eating disorders [3]. However, it turns out that not only sex is adeterminant of eating disorders, but it can also be sexual orientation.2. Eating disorders in sexual minoritiesEarly in the 1990s, it was observed that young people declaring homosexual orientation aremore likely to have mental disorders and an increased risk of suicidal attempts is noticedamongst them [4,5,6]. At that time, more attention has been paid to the problem of eatingdisorders in this social group [7]. The opinion of the society in which we live every day has avery big influence on the acceptance of our body. It all depends on what is considered to beuniversally  beautiful  and what  fits  into  the  current  canon of  beauty.  Body weight,  waistthinness or for example, breast size [8]. In terms of diversity, the most common group thatfaces the phenomenon of stigmatization and social exclusion are overweight homosexual men[9].In  many  studies  it  is  pointed  out  that  the  perception  of  one's  body  and  the  level  of  itsacceptance affect the individual's sexual life. 42% of homosexual men declared that negativefeelings  about  their  bodies  had  bad  influence  on  their  sex  life.  Only  22% of  men  withheterosexual orientation were compared to the same problems. 27% of homosexual womenand 30% of heterosexual women had this problem [10]. For gay, the way a potential partnerperceives him and whether he meets its expectations is very important [11]. Research on agroup of students in the US showed that homosexual and bisexual youth more often reported adesire to lose weight, using diets in comparison with men and heterosexual women in thesame age group [12]. Homosexual men more often focus their attention on their appearancethan heterosexual men and are in a group with an increased risk of bulimia and anorexia. Thereverse relationship was found in lesbians where very often they did not need to be inscribedin the current canon of beauty [13]. Lesbians are a group where increased BMI values  are105more frequent [14]. It is also noticed that bisexual and homosexual women are in a group withan increased risk of overweight and obesity and reduced underweight [15]. In other comparative studies of men with a different sexual orientation, it was shown that gaysare more likely to watch their bodies, and more often admit that they are ashamed of theirbodies.  Gays also conduct  unstructured  nutritional  behaviors  [16].  They also often  reportdissatisfaction with the amount of body fat in their bodies and the unsatisfactory amount  of  muscle  mass  compared  to  heterosexual  men  [17,18].  In  homosexual  men,  the  morefrequent  occurrence  of  eating  disorders  is  also  noticed  than  in  heterosexual  men  [19].Homosexual men with eating disorders are also more likely to abuse substances and moreoften have anxiety disorders, and lesbian shows often mood changes. It is a form of responseto heteronormativity of the community and a sense of otherness [20].3. What affects the disorder?It has been shown that sexual abuse in childhood affects the perception of your body and thesense of attractiveness of your body [21]. Homosexual and bisexual men declared that eatingdisorders help them cope with the emotions associated with sexual abuse in childhood [22].The fact whether the homosexual man is in a stable relationship and has the support of thepartner or whether he is alone, affects the risk of feeling the need to be slim. His satisfactionwith  the  relationship  correlates  with  the  desire  to  be  slimmer  [23].  It  is  the  same  forheterosexual men. Men who are not in permanent emotional relationships are more likely todeclare abnormal nutritional behaviours [24].The beauty canons presented in the media also affect the perception of the body of the peoplefrom the LGBT group. Homosexual men more often want to catch up with the media idealthan homosexual women [25]. A very slim body is the ideal figure for gays [26].Not only the diet, but also the lifestyle and physical activity has a big impact on shaping thefigure. Homosexual youth less often show willingness to participate in team games, fitnessclasses in schools, which increases the risk of overweight or obesity [27]. Due to the lack ofacceptance, they are reluctant to socialize with their surroundings. Sexism, homophobia andracism also affect the level of acceptance of your body [28]. Some studies have shown thatbisexual women and lesbians choose gluttony as a strategy for coping with minority stress and106the  lack  of  public  acceptance  [29].  Although  homosexual  men  more  often  report  theirdissatisfaction  with their  bodies,  women who maintain  close relationships  with gays havebetter self-esteem and feel more sexually attractive [30]. Lesbians sticking to their subculturemay be a form of a protection against the imperative of a slim figure [31]. Homosexual peoplevery often feel the lack of full coherence with heterosexual people and because of that theysurround themselves with people of the same sexual orientation in order to identify better inthe heteronormative world [32]. Lesbian emphasize that the acceptance of the environmentaffects the effectiveness of their weight loss and maintaining slim [33].107slim figure like [Przyciągnij uwagę czytelnika interesującym cytatem z dokumentu lub podaj w tym miejscu kluczową Figure 1. Acceptance of your body, frequency of diets and eatingdisorders in men depending on sexual orientation [34].On the basis of research: French S.A., Story M., Remafedi G., Resnick M.D., Blum R.W., Sexual orientationand prevalence of body dissatisfaction and eating disordered behaviors: a population-based study of adolescents.Int J Eat Disord. 1996 Mar; 19 (2): 119-26Zadowolenie ze swojej sylwetkiCzęste dietyObżarstwoOczyszczanie organizmu np. wymioty010203040Kobiety homoseksualneKobiety heteroseksualneFigure 2. Acceptance of your body, frequency of diets and eating disorders in womendepending on sexual orientation [34].On the basis of research: French  S.A.,  Story  M.,  Remafedi  G.,  Resnick  M.D.,  Blum R.W.,  Sexualorientation and prevalence of body dissatisfaction and eating disordered behaviors: a population-based study  of adolescents. Int J Eat Disord. 1996 Mar; 19 (2): 119-26.108slim figure more liked by amanFrequent diets vomitingGluttony Heterosexual menHomosexual men051015202530Mężczyżni ho-moseksualniMężczyżni he-teroseksualni4. ConclusionsAll  of  the  above  arguments  show how important  is  the  education  of  future  pedagogues,psychologists and medical personnel in the field of eating disorders in homosexual people.  In one of the tests checking the knowledge of students of a medical university in Poland,students knew diseases related to eating disorders. As the most vulnerable group, they werechoosing  women.  Lack  of  response  related  to  sexuality  may  correlate  with  a  lack  ofknowledge in this area. Better training of the above-mentioned specialists can increase thesuccess  of treatment for people with eating disorders.Literature:1. Hoek  H.W.,   Incidence,  prevalence  and  mortality  of  anorexia  nervosa  and  othereating disorders. Curr Opin Psychiatry., 2006 Jul;19(4):389-94.2. Wojtyła  A.,  Biliński  P.,  Bojar  I.,  Wojtyła  C.,  Eating  disorders  among  Polishadolescents attending junior high schools., Probl Hig Epidemiol 2011, 92 (2):343-350.3. Carson R.C.,  James  N.B.,  Mineka S.,  Psychologia  zaburzeń,  GWP,  Gdańsk 2005,str.443.4. Fergusson D.M., Horwood L.J., Beautrais A.L., Is sexual orientation related to mentalhealth  problems  and  suicidality  in  young  people?,  Arch  Gen  Psychiatry. 1999Oct;56(10):876-80.5. Herrell R., Goldberg J., True W.R. I wsp.  Sexual orientation and suicidality: a co-twin control study in adult men. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry ,1999; 56: 867–874.6. Garofalo  R., Katz  E.,  Health  care  issues  of  gay  and  lesbian  youth.,  Curr  OpinPediatr. , 2001 Aug;13(4):298-302.7. Carlat D.J., Camargo C.A., Herzog D.B., Eating disorders in males: a report on 135patients., Am J Psychiatry. 1997 Aug;154(8):1127-32.8. Koff  E., Lucas  M., Migliorini  R., Grossmith  S.,  Women  and  body  dissatisfaction:Does sexual orientation make a difference?, Body Image. 2010 Jun;7(3):255-8. 1099. McGrady P.B.,  "Grow the Beard, Wear the Costume": Resisting Weight and SexualOrientation Stigmas in the Bear Subculture., J Homosex. 2016 Feb 8.10. Peplau L.A., Frederick D.A., Yee C., Maisel N., Lever J., Ghavami N.,  Body imagesatisfaction  in  heterosexual,  gay,  and  lesbian  adults.,  Arch  Sex  Behav. 2009Oct;38(5):713-25.11. Fussner L.M., Smith A.R. It's Not Me, It's You: Perceptions of Partner Body ImagePreferences  Associated  With  Eating  Disorder  Symptoms in Gay and HeterosexualMen. J Homosex. 2015;62(10):1329-44.12. Matthews-Ewald  M.R., Zullig  K.J., Ward  R.M..  Sexual  orientation  anddisordered eating behaviors among self-identified male and female college students.Eat Behav. 2014 Aug;15(3):441-4. 13. Heffernan  K.,Sexual  orientation  as  a  factor  in  risk  for  binge  eating  and  bulimianervosa: a review. Int J Eat Disord. 1994 Dec;16(4):335-47.14. Smith  H.A., Markovic  N., Danielson  M.E., Matthews  A., Youk  A., TalbottE.O., Larkby C., Hughes T.,Sexual abuse, sexual orientation, and obesity in women., J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2010 Aug;19(8):1525-32.15. Struble  C.B., Lindley  L.L., Montgomery  K., Hardin  J., Burcin  M.,  Overweight  andobesity in lesbian and bisexual college women., J Am Coll Health. 2010;59(1):51-6.16. Dakanalis  A., Di Mattei V.E., Bagliacca E.P., Prunas A., Sarno L., Riva G., ZanettiM.A.,Disordered eating behaviors among Italian men: objectifying media and sexualorientation differences. Eat Disord. 2012;20(5):356-6717. Kaminski P.L., Chapman B.P., Haynes S.D., Own L.,  Body image, eating behaviors,and  attitudes  toward  exercise  among  gay  and  straight  men., Eat  Behav. 2005Jun;6(3):179-87.18. Yelland C., Tiggemann M.  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The perception of your body by homosexual people. Eating disorders

Introduction
Problems related to eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and obesity turns out to be very common in the LGBT group. The paper presents a review of research in this field showing the relationship between the influence of the environment, homophobia and lack of tolerance to the problem presented in the topic and a scale of this problem occurring in the presented minority group.
Aim
The aim of the work is to draw attention to the scale of the problem and the specificity of the LGBT group in the field of eating disorders. Presenting factors which are a predisposition 
to such disorders, may be useful to medical staff, psychologists, educators and therapists dealing with the problem of eating disorders. Another aim is to create a scientific publication on the topic of sexual minorities, which is still lacking in comparison with foreign magazines in our country.
Brief description of the state of knowledge
LGBT group turns out to be a group with an increased risk of eating disorders. Gays are a group exposed to anorexia and bulimia. However, the group of lesbians has been defined with 
an increased risk of overweight and obesity. According to a review of contemporary research in this area, the problems related to nutrition are influenced by homophobia, lack of social acceptance, heterosexual and episodes of sexual abuse in childhood.
Conclusions
There is a huge need of knowledge for specialists dealing with eating disorders about the specificity of the LGBT group. Their greater competences can positively influence the prevalence of eating disorders in this group and positively influence the course of treatment 
of such people

The perception of your body by homosexual people. Eating disorders

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