Thread: Are bodybuilder nuts? Understanding Muscle Dysmorphia.

Understanding Muscle Dysmorphia.

IDEA Health & Fitness Source. Oct 2001 v19 i9 p68.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2001 IDEA Health & Fitness


Sometimes referred to as "reverse anorexia nervosa," muscle dysmorphia is an unhealthy preoccupation with being muscular. Here, fitness expert Staci Mason sheds some light on this dangerous new condition, which negatively impacts some exercise enthusiasts.

1. Muscle Dysmorphia Is a Body Image Problem.
People who suffer from muscle dysmorphia want to bulk up by gaining muscle mass, not fat. Most are convinced they are too small and obsess about being frail and weak. Like victims of anorexia, they harbor a body image that is in conflict with their actual appearance.

2. Overtraining Can Be a Giveaway. While muscle dysmorphia can be difficult to identify, it has some tell-tale signs. Often, people with the condition lift weights for hours every day. They believe that taking a day off would defeat everything they have worked to achieve. In addition to overdoing resistance training, they may engage in excessive cardiovascular training, often running or biking for an hour or more daily. Some people with the complaint abuse steroids in an attempt to achieve the muscle mass they think exercise alone cannot provide.

3. Eating Is Impacted. Many people with muscle dysmorphia also have a history of disordered eating. In their efforts to achieve the lean muscle mass they desire, they are usually quick to embrace the latest diet.

4. Sufferers Differ From Healthy Exercisers. Not every person who gains muscle by lifting weights or running marathons has muscle dysmorphia. Unlike healthy exercisers, people with this condition suffer from body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, steroid use, and mood and anxiety disorders. They do not stop exercising if they are injured, and they may continue engaging in steroid use or disordered eating even once they know the risks involved.

5. Both Men and Women Can Be Affected. Although conclusive gender comparisons are not available, researchers suspect that men are more likely than women to suffer from muscle dysmorphia. This is because popular culture has long held that the ideal man is big and strong, whereas the ideal woman is small and thin. However, muscle dysmorphia does occur in women, especially female athletes.

6. Males in Their Late Teens Are Especially Vulnerable. In a study by Pope and colleagues, published last year in the American Journal of Psychiatry (no. 18), researchers found that 19 was the average age of onset for muscle dysmorphia in men.

7. The Health Consequences Can Be Serious. Sufferers typically endure the side effects of overtraining, steroid use and disordered eating. These effects can include restlessness, slowed metabolism, mood swings, anxiety disorders, depression and increased susceptibility to injury, according to the American Journal of Psychiatry study.

8. The Social Consequences Are Potentially Devastating. Affected people construct a rigid exercise schedule and do everything they can to protect it, even turning down promotions and relocations that could benefit their careers. Muscle dysmorphia can also ruin relationships with family, friends and significant others. Problems arise when sufferers put their extreme exercise programs before the needs of other people. In addition, people with muscle dysmorphia are extremely self-conscious; they constantly worry about being ridiculed for their self-perceived inadequacies.

9. Muscle Dysmorphia Can Be Dangerous. Because people with this condition appear to be very fit, their problem often goes unnoticed until their situation is already dangerous.

10. Help Is Available. If you suspect that you or someone you know has muscle dysmorphia, it is important to seek help. Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders Inc. (ANRED) says the most effective treatment is cognitive-behavioral therapy combined with medication. A physician trained in sports medicine can provide this type of therapy. Another option is to ask a family practitioner for a referral to a mental health counselor who works with athletes.

Are bodybuilder nuts?

Many of them are, but for reasons beyond this.