It's the desire for muscle, for ever more muscle, that this study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology may be associated with excessive alcohol consumption and other disorders: men who struggle to ideal but unattainable body image are also at risk of mental health problems, reveal these findings, presented in the Journal of Eating Disorders International.
Excessive preoccupation with the silhouette and the musculature in men appears to be associated with a markedly higher risk of depression, excessive consumption of alcohol on weekends, but also weight-loss diets not justified by overweight or obesity. These same men have a 4 times greater risk of using supplements, both legal and illegal, as well as anabolic steroids.
Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) with their colleagues from Harvard University show here by analyzing data from 2,460 men, aged 18 to 32, that:
- 10% of men have a body image disorder: they see themselves as “too fat” and want to be thinner;
- more than 1 in 3 have been on a weight loss diet in the past year. The diet not being prescribed by a health professional or justified by being overweight;
- young boys and men are the most strongly confronted with these body image disorders;
- a majority of participants who say they are obsessed with their muscles, report excessive drinking;
- these results are valid whatever the level of studies.
Young people are exposed to narrow ideals: the logical theory of the authors is that many men want to look like sports stars, which requires full-time training, yet these men have jobs and families. Men, like women, are overwhelmed with ideal body images, and while women are expected to be slim and have a small waistline, men should have broad shoulders and bulging muscles. If, for women, extreme thinness has often been denounced, the body image problems that men face are on the other hand neglected by researchers, parents and health professionals.
“ Men's muscles are like women's cosmetics! writes lead author Trine Tetlie Eik-Nes, professor of Neuromedicine and Movement Science at NTNU. Previous studies have shown that overweight or underweight boys are at very high risk of mental disorders. The study confirms this association by revealing a desire for muscles completely independent of body weight. What this means in practice is that even some healthy-weight men are obsessed with their muscles and the practice of strength training. For these men, the objective is not to improve their health but to be always more satisfied with their own body.
An exaggerated desire for muscles signals a lack of control: " This obsession with muscle could be a sign that young men are not in control of their lives ", comments the author: " if exercise is beneficial to health, when it takes over the other activities of life, like an addiction, it can be problematic ”.
What implications? While this excessive desire for muscles mainly affects very young men, the message is primarily aimed at parents who have a young person who practices every day, who deprives himself of certain foods even though he is not overweight. and who takes protein supplements. Parents should then take the time to talk with their child and discuss the main objective of the training.
This very first study which reveals the funny relationship between the desire for muscles in men and mental risks should encourage us to better study the impact of body image in men too, to better identify risk factors and therapies. possible.