Why isn’t extreme body building considered a mental disorder but anorexia and others is?
March 5, 2009 by
Filed under Fitness and muscle
Ever wonder this? Obviously anorexia nervosa is a recognized mental disorder that can lead to death. But, why isn’t extreme bodybuilding? You know where men take steroids and looking so unaturally buff and extremely unhealthy. I mean obviously anorexia nervosa and exteme bodybuilding are caused by emotional, biological, and environmental factors. But I just don’t understand why extreme body building isn’t considered a mental disorder? Is it because you don’t have a chance of dying, unlike anorexia?
It is. Its called bigorexia.
Obsessed with the Perfect Body: Bigorexia
Interestingly, both male bulimics and body builders seem to be equally over-concerned with weight and shape. Both feel that body shape is just as important as friends or work. Furthermore, distortions in thinking can be seen by the fact that body builders are just as unhappy with their bodies as non athlete male bulimics, which leads many to anabolic steroid use to get bigger, leaner, and more muscular. These men feel too small and want to increase the size of various upper body parts at any cost. It is no wonder that some have termed this obsession as "reverse anorexia," "bigorexia," or "muscle dysmorphia." Researchers believe that this is a form of body dysmorphic disorder, a disorder whereby a person feels they are physically flawed despite appearing perfectly normal. This may also be related to the condtion called obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is on the spectrum that includes bulimia nervosa.