Not only does the LGBTQ community face rejection and threats, but it also experiences pre-obesity. Several reasons make it difficult for the community to maintain a healthy lifestyle, making members more prone to obesity even after reading various phenq reviews.
Continue reading to learn about pre-obesity in the LGBTQ community.
Transgenders
Eating disorders are more common in transgender people. According to one study, nearly half of trans-masculine people, or those who were born female but now have masculine or male traits, are obese.
This is due in part to the unique physical and gender issues that transgender people face. For example, the bodies of young trans-men may be unable to keep up with the eating patterns of biological men, which include more protein, causing these trans-men to bulk up.
Aside from obesity, eating disorders are becoming more common. However, there are fewer cases of these disorders when gender-affirming therapies are conducted.
Some gender identity and body size issues are unique to the transgender community. Furthermore, they are less likely to get checked for eating disorders, despite the fact that they are at high risk for eating disorders such as unhealthy eating, purging, and body image issues.
Gay Women
A study has discovered that bisexual women and lesbians in the US are more than 10% more likely to suffer from pre-obesity and obesity compared to heterosexual women. Other experts also reported that women in the sexual minority are two times more at risk of such issues.
Bisexual women are also more likely to have eating disorders. According to research, this issue begins to emerge when they begin attending universities. Though college students often have poor eating habits, there are differences in eating patterns between lesbians, bisexual women, and heterosexuals.
Stress and depression are two psychological elements that contribute to the issues above. As a result, their healthy habits and diet suffer.
Gay Men
Eating disorders are also observed in bisexual and gay men. The age group at most risk for these is those 18 to 29 years of age.
One reason is that gay men are likely to use hurtful and offensive terms such as “gay fat” which means someone who has normal weight but no muscles or abs.
One study has reported that gay and bisexual men have higher tendencies to do extreme things in dealing with their weight such as vomiting, fasting, or taking weight-loss pills or laxatives.
Gay men were also likely to binge and purge compared to straight men. A little more than 40% of gay men have eating disorders. Moreover, they’re more likely to have body image issues.
It’s crucial to understand how stigma, shame, and internal homophobia in the community affect them and the impacts of these on their health. Healthcare professionals can provide screening and consultation in the community when these risks are determined.