Financial fears and the recession are contributing to the rise in the number of men suffering from anorexia.
At least 10 percent of adults diagnosed as having an eating disorder are male.
Professor Hubert Lacey, who runs the eating disorder unit at St George's Hospital in London, has seen the number of male referrals double in the past few years.
"These are just my observations and because the numbers are so small, statistics can be misleading but I think there has been a cultural change," he said. "The recession is a factor because when jobs are under threat, people think more about how they present themselves."
Si, 29, believes financial worries played a part in his eating disorder.
He said: "When I was a student and struggled with money, it was almost a reason to not eat."
Job anxiety or redundancy — real or threatened — has an impact on self-esteem which can lead to men becoming anorexic or bulimic.
Aaron, 31, developed an eating disorder when he felt stuck in a job he hated.
"My job contributed to a sense of purposelessness in life," he explained.
Losing weight was a way of regaining the sense of self worth, improvement and achievement, he said.
"Eventually I had to give up work, and recovery will always be tainted with the fear of having to do such an alienating and miserable job again," he added.
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