Muscle
Dysmorphia
Disordered Eating and Body Image Disturbances in Male Athletes
Katherine
Beals PhD,RD
American College of Sports Medicine
Health and Fitness Journal
March/April 2003
A growing body of evidence suggests
that male athletes-particularly those engages in weight-dependent
or "appearance" sports- are becoming increasingly
susceptible to the sociocultural and sport-specific pressures
to achieve the "perfect body" that have plagued
their female counterparts for centuries. As a result, it seems
that more male athletes are developing body image disturbances
and disordered eating behaviors. One particular body image
disorder that seems to be increasingly common in male athletes,
particular body builders, is Muscle Dysmorphia. According
to Harrison Pope, author of The Adonis Complex: The Secret
Crisis of Male Body Obsession, Muscle Dysmorphia, characterized
by an inordinate preoccupation and dissatisfaction with body
size and muscularity, is affecting millions of boys and men
today and severely endangering their health. Whereas body
image disturbances and disordered eating in male athletes
have probably not reached the crisis level or epidemic proportions
implied by the authors of The Adonis Complex, they have in
all likelihood been underreported, meaning that they are going
unrecognized. Thus, male athletes are not receiving the treatment
that they need.
Muscle Dysmorphia Signs and Symptoms
Muscle Dysmorphia is not currently listed in American Psychiatric
Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric
Disorders, and thus, there are no formal diagnostic criteria
that can be used to identify an individual who may be at risk.
However researchers and author Harrison Pope have recently
proposed some characteristic features that are listed below:
· The individual demonstrates
a preoccupation with the idea that he is not sufficiently
lean and muscular. Behaviors associated with this preoccupation
include frequent weighing; constant checking of appearance
in mirrors/windows; persistent criticism of body weight, size
and/or shape; wearing baggy clothing to camouflage the body;
or conversely. Modifying clothing to accentuate muscularity
(such as adding extra buttons to make a shirt sleeve look
tighter)
· The preoccupation with muscularity causes clinically
significant distress or impairment of social, occupational,
or other important areas of life functioning (personal relationships)
as demonstrated by at least two of the following:
1. The individual frequently gives up important social, occupational,
or recreational activities because of a compulsive need to
maintain his exercise and dietary regimen.
2. The individual avoids situations where his body would be
exposed to others (beach or swimming pool) or endures such
situation, only with marked distress or intense anxiety.
3. The preoccupation about the inadequacy of body size of
muscularity causes clinically significant distress or impairment
in social, occupational, or other important areas of life.
4. The individual continues to exercise, diet, or use performance-enhancing
drugs/supplements despite knowledge of adverse physical and/or
psychological consequences.
· The individual engages in
excessive exercise, demonstrates preoccupation with food,
follows strict dietary regimens (avoiding specific foods or
groups of goods, maintaining excessively low-fat or high-protein
diets) or abuses steroids and/or dietary supplements, particularly
those aimed at increasing body size (creatine, HMB, DHEA,
Androstendione) and/or decreasing body fat (ephedrine, Mu
Huang, Guarana)
