People exercise for many different reasons, including appearance. Gyms are full in cities and everyone make sure to make time in their busy schedule to exercise. Lifting weights is a popular form of exercise, especially favored by men. However, scientists at the University of Queensland warn people to be careful – people who are lifting weights to improve their appearance have a higher risk of developing anorexia nervosa.
Lifting weights can improve your physique, but you also can’t forget your mental health. Image credit: Santeri Viinamäki via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Anorexia (or anorexia nervosa) is a common eating disorder in which patients view their body in a distorted way. People with anorexia eat less, exercise a lot and try to lose as much weight as possible. This often leads to dangerous health conditions, associated with malnutrition and a very small percentage of body fat. Anorexia nervosa, also known as anorexia, is another form of disorder – people find themselves too small. They are trying to gain as much muscle as possible and often go too far, which is also a dangerous health condition.
While exercise can have health benefits, when a person loses connection with reality, it can lead to dangerous consequences. Anthropologist Dr Mair Underwood, first author of the new study, said: “Fitness is a risky environment for mental health, and with so many young people looking to build bodies to look good, the risk of developing a muscular disorder cannot be ignored.” Worryingly, the scientists found that all men who engage in bodybuilding consider themselves to have some degree of muscular dystrophy – they often say ‘the day you start lifting is the day you become small forever’.
It’s quite dangerous when people start to believe they are smaller than they really are. Some bodybuilders use clever techniques to combat those illusions. For example, they weigh and measure themselves to get a numerical value for their size rather than just a subjective interpretation of what they see in the mirror. However, the scientists say that the techniques themselves are symptomatic of a muscular disorder.
Why is bigorexia dangerous? Because these people are never happy and have a distorted self-image. This leads to drug use as well as other psychological problems. It can have deadly consequences, which is why scientists urge fitness enthusiasts to recognize the symptoms and seek help.
What will that help be? Well, therapy can help. As well as encounters with people with similar problems. Sadly, scientists don’t know what makes people so obsessive about their size, and helping them is quite difficult. Bodybuilding can be done in a healthy way, but you need to avoid getting too invested in the man in the mirror.
Source: University of Queensland
