Thousands of Aussie men are suffering from eating disorders. Most of the times, men do not get noticed as they do not take treatment fearing the stigma attached with the condition.

Christine Morgan, CEO of the Butterfly Foundation, an organization for people with body image issues, said 40% of people having binge eating disorder and 20% of people having anorexia nervosa are men. As per the foundation, over 333,000 Australian men currently have a clinical eating disorder.

There is a notion that eating disorders can only happen among teenage girls, but it is not the truth, said Morgan. If people would get to know about the number of boys getting hospitalized due to an eating disorder then they will get shocked, affirmed Morgan.

Some of the biggest names of the entertainment industry have battled with eating disorders. Comedian Russell Brand developed bulimia as a teen. Former Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns suffered with anorexia at the time when he was at the peak of his career.

Eating disorder covers a number of illnesses including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and atypical presentation. Main problem among boys is they do not seek treatment as often as women do.

"It's perceived as a sign of weakness. They believe it's simply a matter of willpower - but an eating disorder is not cured by willpower. It's a very serious psychological disorder", stated Morgan.

Male eating disorders can go unnoticed. Men can start with disordered exercise behaviours that lead to disordered eating behaviours.