Are you obsessed with your body?

By Steve Baker
Staff Writer

Imagine lifting weights obsessively at the gym to gain muscle and yet still feel puny afterwards. This is just one of the symptoms of the body dysmorphic disorder known as muscle dysmorphia or bigorexia.

“Muscle dysmorphia is a preoccupation with the idea that one is not sufficiently muscular. These individuals obsess about their muscularity and have little control over compulsive weight training and dietary regimens,” said Dr. Katherine Silgailis, associate professor of exercise and movement science.

In addition to compulsory exercise regimens, men and women with muscle dysmorphia are highly self critical, have shame and dissatisfaction with their body image and repeatedly weigh themselves and examine their bodies in the mirror to check for weight gain. Widespread use of bodybuilding supplements and/or steroids have also been noticed in those afflicted with the disorder.

Those with muscle dysmorphia experiences high levels of anxiety and stress in time spent away from the gym. They feel painfully self-conscious and wear baggy clothes to hide their self-perceived smallness. Should the disorder go untreated, these obsessive-compulsive workout routines could have a negative effect on one’s social life, career, and family.

According to an August 2000 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the mean age at onset of muscle dysmorphia is 19.4 years; the average age of a college student.

Unlike the abundant literature published on other body dysmorphic disorders like anorexia and bulimia, research on muscle dysmorphia is still in the early stages.

“This is a widespread, secret phenomenon,” said Harrison G. Pope Jr., M.D., M.P.H., co-author of The Adonis Complex. “In our society, it’s easier for women to talk about body image concerns. Real men aren’t supposed to fuss about their bodies.”

Muscle dysmorphia has also been called the “Adonis Complex,” so named because of the half man, half god character of Greek mythology, Adonis, who represented the ultimate in masculine beauty.
According to Silgailis, because women value weight control, they frequently engage in cardiovascular endurance exercise. Men report appearance as a strong motive for exercise and therefore are more likely to engage in weight training.

“Because it is similar to anorexia nervosa, this disorder has been called ‘reverse anorexia nervosa.’ The unrealistic pursuit of thinness in anorexics is similar to the pursuit of bigness by individuals suffering from muscle dysmorphia,” said Silgailis.

Research also suggests that muscle dysmorphia may be caused by images in popular culture. The media’s representation of the ideal body image has grown more muscular over the years. For example, actors like Brad Pitt and The Rock represent masculinity in Hollywood when at once we had Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne.

“Pick up any magazine or look at any advertisement on television or on a billboard and you will see super thin women and men with rock hard abs,” said Dr. Christine Whipple, assistant professor of exercise and movement science. “There is little chance to escape the overt and covert messages sent by the media.”
Literature published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders suggests that this ideal may be especially dangerous because some male images in the media may not even be attainable without drugs like anabolic steroids.

Similarly, American action toys, like GI Joe, have grown steadily leaner and more muscular from the 1960s to present.

Not only do the media affect how a man sees himself; it can also affect the way he thinks women view his physique. Research published in the American Journal of Psychiatry suggests that men believe their body would be most desirable for women if they had at least 27 more pounds of muscle. The research reports that surveys around the world actually indicate that women prefer a less muscular male body.

As many men afflicted with muscle dysmorphia continue to try and get bigger muscles by whatever means possible, some find these efforts unable to meet their goals.

Last year, MTV aired an episode of True Life featuring three young people about to get plastic surgery. Among others, the documentary featured “Luke,” a male-fitness fanatic, who feared that everyone at the gym was starring at his small calves. He believed that to have the “total package” he would have to get calf implants.

As the media continue to represent the ideal male body with a muscular chest and six-pack abs, Luke is not the only man looking to surgically improve his body these days.

Plastic surgeons across the country say that a growing number of men are willing to pay up to $10,000 for male chest enhancements.

“Give it five years, you’re going to see a lot more pec implants,” said Roberto Olivardia, co-author of The Adonis Complex. “I get concerned when people place too great a steak in what pec implants will do for them, when they think this surgery will make them whole. That’s when it’s problematic.”

Anorexia and Bulemia

As men are being influenced by the six-pack abs of the latest Abercrombie and Fitch model, women are also being victimized by these stereotypical representations.

Research suggests that media images of the male and female body can lead to eating disorders.
Although somewhat in the minority when dealing with muscle dysmorphia, or the compulsion to put on muscle, women are in the forefront when regarding eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

“The Department of Health and Human Services division of the National Institute of Mental Health (2001) stated that females are much more likely than males to develop an eating disorder. Only an estimated 5-15 percent of people with anorexia are male,” said Dr. Christine Whipple, professor of exercise and movement science at William Paterson University.

According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), anorexia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss and exercise.

Regarding people with an eating disorder, Karen Hilberg, associate director of the WPU Rec. Center said, “Their vision of their body is a little warped. They want to make a chance and do it drastically. Everyone should exercise moderately, but students with an eating disorder are obsessive compulsive about exercising.”

The NEDA classifies bulimia nervosa as an eating disorder characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting designed to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating.

“The FDA most recent results (1994) during the first year of college 4.5-18% of women and .4% of men have a history of bulimia,” said Whipple.

Although research has linked the development of an eating disorder to various aspects of mental health, poor body image resulting from media representations of the ideal body can also lead to an eating disorder.

The image of the model female body has been perpetuated throughout popular culture. The voluptuous physique of Marilyn Monroe’s wouldn’t meet today’s standards of the ideal female body in Hollywood. Instead, Hollywood executives favor actresses with figures like that of Pamela Anderson.
Health magazine reports that 32 percent of female TV network characters are underweight, while only five percent of females in the U.S. audience are underweight.

Think about the television programs today’s college students grew up watching. Overweight characters were not part of the cast of popular programs like Saved by the Bell or Beverly Hills 90210, not to mention the incredibly shrinking female cast of Friends, according to U. Magazine, an online magazine for college students.

Again according to Health magazine, only 3 percent of female TV network characters are obese, while 25 percent of U.S. women fall into that category.

The media’s false misrepresentation of the average female body continues, the workout routines of females have been affected.

“Women focus on toning, while males focus on building muscle. I would attribute this pattern to societal pressures for women being waif thin and men being muscle bound,” said Whipple.

In an effort to reduce the amount of unhealthy body messages in the media, the NEDA has established The Media Watchdog Program. The program is intended to improve media messages about size, weight, and beauty.

According to the NEDA, The Media Watchdog Program looks for offensive ads that include: an emaciated model or a model whose features have been computer enhanced, a large person whose attributes or character are negatively portrayed, and ads that glamorize images of people on diets, or ads that present people relying on food as a way to respond to stress, frustration, or lonliness.

“Often women are working out in order to lose weight. Keep in mind that society still sends a very strong message to women that ‘thin is in,’” said Dr. Virginia Overdorf, professor of exercise and movement science.

Pills, Pills, Pills

Look into the average person’s medicine cabinet these days and there is one item that people always seem to have in stock: Pills.

Science has given pills and substances to relax, bring down fevers, and now even change one’s physical appearance.

In addition to, or instead of, working out compulsively to put on weight and muscle mass, men and women with and without body dysmorphia may consume supplements such as creatine to attain an increasingly muscular build.

To lose weight without starving oneself or resorting to the binge/purge syndrome of bulimia, men and women have turned to weight loss pills such as xenadrine to take off the excess pounds.

According to Michael Provenzano, 24, assistant manager of GNC nutrition store in Rockaway Mall, college-aged girls are looking for fat burners like Trimspa and xenadrine.

“The freshman 15 is more a problem for girls; women gain weight more easily. Males are always socialized to get more exercise,” said Levitan.

Provenzano adds that college aged males are looking to purchase substances like creatine to help put on muscle.

However, even though many can argue for the benefits of these dietary supplements, others continue to disagree that they can be anything but a recipe for danger.

“I think they are all terrible,” said Professor Jean Levitan of the community health department at William Paterson University.

Creatine, naturally found in the body as a product of the liver and kidneys, is taken as a supplement to maximize one’s workout by acting as a formidable energy boost for the muscles.

According to Health Magazine, because the supplement does not increase endurance, creatine should only be used for short bursts of intense effort like weight lifting.

“When taking creatine, I always tell my customers to drink plenty of water to flush the excess creatine out of their kidney’s,” said Provenzano. “Your body can really only handle four grams of creatine at a time.”

Health magazine also reports that by loading creatine into the muscles, a person can train longer and harder as the muscles are able to recover more quickly from strenuous workouts.

“Personally, outside of a multivitamin which all students should take, I don’t think the supplements are really needed at the recreation level. The jury is still out on Creatine; research goes both ways,” said Karen Hilberg, associate director of recreation at the WPU Rec. Center.

Researchers argue that the appearance of larger muscles through creatine use is somewhat of a sham. Some researchers say that creatine merely adds water to the muscles cells making them appear larger. Once a person stops taking creatine, this excess water leaves the cells and all gains are lost.

Even though creatine may help a person increase their muscle mass through more strenuous workouts, the long-term side effects are still largely unknown as the supplement is still fairly new.

“If they can’t get it here, then they will get it illegally,” said Provenzano. “For every 20 guys that come in here, about ten of them ask about steroids.”

Actual steroid usage among WPU students is not wholly unheard of either.

“I am pretty up on who is on [steroids] and who isn’t, I do know that there has been steroid use in the past. They think taking steroids will make them bigger, but it also changes their behavior,” said Hilberg.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, college men and women who don’t have the time or motivation to work out, but still want to lose weight, go to nutrition stores like GNC for weight loss supplements.

Xenadrine, an herbal weight loss pill, outside of the regulatory powers of the Food and Drug Administration, increases one’s blood pressure and heart rate while decreasing his or her appetite.

“By taking xenadrine, ephedra, or a stacker you are really asking for health issues that you have no control over,” said Hilberg

The main ingredient, ephedra, has been proven to induce high blood pressure in users and can also lead to irregular heard rhythms, stroke and seizure.

“Pills are not the answer to weight management. Regular exercise and appropriate food choices are the only way,” said Dr. Michelle Grodner of the community health department. “Some ingredients in those pills are indeed dangerous and can contribute to death.”

The FDA has found that more than 100 deaths can be attributed to ephedra, most notable is the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler. Bechler, 23, had been taking Xenadrine RFA-1 to lose weight.

Proponents of ephedra claim that Bechler did not die as a result of his ephedra use, but died of heat stroke. Bechler had a history of high blood pressure and abnormal liver functions which could have contributed to his death.

“When they come into the store, I ask them if they have any health problems. I tell them not to take any of these if they have a history of anything; you must be 100 percent healthy,” said Provenzano.

After the customer affirms their healthy status, Provenzano will typically sell them Trimspa, the only ephedra-free FDA approved weight loss pill on the market, and a multi-vitamin.

“Students don’t research exactly what they are putting into their body,” said Hilberg. “They read the marketing ploy, not the fine print.”

Dr. Gordon Schmidt, chair of exercise and movement science, believes the media has a vital role in educating people. Schmidt urges students to look at who is writing the research on the product. Do they work for the company? Does the product in question fund their research?

What could possibly motivate men and women to use these potentially dangerous supplements? The ideal body image seems to be enough motivation for WPU students.

From a survey of 40 students from the WPU dorms, Lesley Dube, a senior majoring in exercise and movement science, found that 41.2 percent of the participants used body image as their main reason for exercising.

“I feel that society as a whole plays an important part in how we view exercise and the reasons we do exercise. Especially as college students I feel that we are very impressionable. Everything from TV, to music, to our peers has an impact on how we feel about our body image and what we do about it,” said Dube.

“Culture says that appearance is what you are being judged by. It becomes a problem if you have to look a particular way to feel good about yourself,” said Levitan.

Although college students may look to pills or other means to achieve the ideal body, Grodner argues that the most important nutrient college students aren’t getting enough of is sleep.

The irregularity in sleeping habits is also reflected in students eating routine.

Levitan believes that in addition to the student’s commitment to fast food venues, they are also not eating regular meals.

However, even though life may be hectic, the overall health of the average WPU student can still be seen positively.

“I am continually amazed that our student body remains as healthy as they are considering their academic loads, work schedules, and family/life stressors,” said Grodner.

However, the moral of the story seems to be that student’s shouldn’t strive for the body that is portrayed by the media through pills, compulsory exercise, or eating disorders.

“Minor adjustments can be made through excersie and dieting. Work with what you have; you must be happy with yourself on the inside,” said Hilberg.

May 8 , 2003 Issue