Abstract
Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) is a psychological disorder characterized by the preoccupation with the idea that one’s body is not lean and muscular. The current study aimed to explore MD behaviours and symptoms in three groups of recreational athletes: bodybuilders (BB; n = 42), strength athletes (SA; n = 61), and fitness practitioners (FP; n = 22). Furthermore, we assessed MD-related psychological features as well as possible psychological predictors of MD among groups. Results highlighted that the BB group reported more beliefs about being smaller and weaker than desired compared to the other groups, whereas individuals in the SA group reported setting higher standards for themselves than the FP group. Lastly, orthorexia nervosa and social anxiety symptoms emerged as predictors of MD symptoms in the BB group. Taken together, our findings suggest that individuals in the BB group are characterized by more MD general symptomatology than those in the other groups; furthermore, only orthorexia nervosa and social anxiety may play a specific role in predicting MD general symptoms in bodybuilders.
Highlights
Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) affects mostly men[2], and its prevalence rates vary significantly depending on the sample population; in particular, athletes involved in resistance training may be at increased risk for MD development compared to other athletes and non-trainers[2,7]
Groups were equivalent with respect to age (p = 0.06), years of education (p = 0.93), marital status (p = 0.21), and occupation (p = 0.35; Table 1), whereas differences emerged on BMI (p = 0.01)
Bonferroni post hoc comparisons showed that the BMI of the strength athletes (SA) group was higher than the BMI of the fitness practitioners (FP) group (p = 0.01), while the BB group did not differ from either the SA (p = 0.06) or the FP (p = 0.99)
Summary
MD affects mostly men[2], and its prevalence rates vary significantly depending on the sample population; in particular, athletes involved in resistance training may be at increased risk for MD development compared to other athletes and non-trainers[2,7]. Bodybuilders are considered at increased risk for developing MD2,7,8, the study by Pickett et al.[14] reported that competitive bodybuilders did not differ from other resistance training athletes with respect to the self-evaluation of their body image; both groups reported higher positive self-evaluation of their body than physically active controls. Dysfunctional eating patterns, as well as psychological features such as perfectionism, self-esteem, and social anxiety, may play a key role in the development and maintenance of MD4,15,16. Pickett et al.[14] found that competitive bodybuilders had higher social self-esteem than physically active controls
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