NBC News Stay Tuned host Savannah Sellers is breaking down the unrealistic body expectations stemming from superhero movies and beyond that have been plaguing young men through mental health and body image issues that too often go undiagnosed in a new three-part series.
“Body: Young Men & Body Image,” which hails from Stay Tuned, NBC News’ flagship Gen Z news brand, and launches March 20, features three episodes focusing on eating disorders, steroid use and leg lengthening, respectively. The first episode centers on 17-year-old Ryan and 22-year-old Nathan, both of whom struggle with restrictive eating as they aspire to the bland chicken and rice diet that is said to be the key to success for male superhero idols from Chris Evans’ “Captain America” to Jason Momoa’s “Aquaman.”
As Sellers spoke with the young men and experts in the field, the disparity in recognizing and diagnosing male eating disorders as compared to those in young women was made crystal clear as Sellers reveals “the medical community has no roadmap to diagnose a biological male with an eating disorder.”
Just as body dysmorphia is commonly misconceived as a “girl thing,” according to Sellers, eating disorder diagnoses rely on centering on cisgender female patients as until just a couple years ago, to be diagnosed as anorexic, a patient had to have missed three periods.
“There is currently no eating disorder that accounts for boys and men who want to bulk up – and eat in a disorderly fashion as well as workout in an extreme way in the process,” Sellers told TheWrap. “So society tells boys eating disorders can’t happen to them and their doctors – with the best of intentions – essentially confirm this. There are little to no books, websites, support groups dedicated to boys and men who need help with this.”
For Sellers, who recently opened up about her own mental health struggles in a Teen Vogue op-ed, her personal experiences undoubtably inform her reporting and strengthen her ability to “sensitively conduct a conversation on these issues.”
“My own anxiety absolutely powers my reporting and my fight for this coverage in our newsroom,” Sellers said, noting her passion for “covering any and all things mental health from the moment I was blessed with a platform to do so. “It’s been an amazing journey for me to have my anxiety go from a crippling hindrance when I was younger to a really effective tool in my reporting now.”
Coming off the heels of anchoring mental health special titled “Teens Under Pressure: Mental Health & Social Media” for NBC News NOW, NBC News’ streaming news network, Sellers also shares her goal of “putting our viewers in our stories.”
“No one has to share their struggles with the world- but the people who do are extremely generous and strong,” she said. “It’s an honor to be in that moment and to share something that will most likely help other people.”
“Body: Young Men & Body Image” launches its first episode Monday, March 20 on the “Stay Tuned” YouTube channel, with two subsequent episodes dropping Mondays.
