"Bigorexia" can make a gym obsession harmful but often goes unrecognized

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"Bigorexia" can make a gym obsession harmful but often goes unrecognized
Societal standards of masculinity are centered on strength and muscularity. This "double stigma" is damaging men

By Elizabeth Hlavinka
Staff Writer
Published April 6, 2025 5:30AM (EDT)


(Salon) When Kenan was 16, he started going to the gym to get bigger. He had been bullied his entire life about his size, and once he started to see his body change in the mirror he couldn’t get enough.

“I got some results and then just ran with it,” Kenan, who is using his first name only for privacy reasons, told Salon in a phone interview. “It was like a dopamine loop from hell for the next 10 years.”

Kenan’s time at the gym began to eat up the rest of his life. He would skip hanging out with friends or going on trips if it meant that he couldn’t work out. He started counting every “macro” — or macronutrient of proteins, carbohydrates and fats — that went into his body, adding thousands of calories of canola oil to his smoothies so he could put on weight. He even brought his own prepackaged meals to his cousin’s wedding so he could be sure the food served there was not interfering with his regimen.

....(snip)....

At one point, Kenan came across the term muscle dysmorphia in a bodybuilding forum and recognized his own experience. Also known as “reverse anorexia” or “bigorexia,” muscle dysmorphia is a pathologic preoccupation with muscularity. In the most recent version of the psychiatric manual used to classify mental illness, it is listed as a specific type of body dysmorphia rather than its own diagnosis, although it also shares some characteristics found in eating disorders.

“The goal of exercise and physical activity is to improve your life and make you feel happier and healthier,” said Dr. Jason Nagata, an adolescent medicine specialist at the University of California, San Francisco who has studied muscle dysmorphia. “But for these individuals, it becomes a burden and an obsession that they cannot stop thinking about.” ...............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/04/06/bigorexia-can-make-a-gym-obsession-harmful-but-often-goes-unrecognized/