The Bigorexia Battle Young Men Are Fighting
Why you (regardless of gender identity) should care about it
Photo by Ryan Snaadt on Unsplash
You know him.
You may relate to him.
You could be him.
Him being the guy at the gym with biceps the size of a milk jug.
The 14-year-old doing “gorilla chest” workouts he saw on TikTok rather than going to the waterpark with his friends.
The engineer on your Zoom call you’re convinced spends more time lifting weights than he does writing code.
Whether you know him, relate to him, or are him, the battle for the body bulge is omnipresent. For many young men, it has morphed into a life-consuming disorder they never saw coming — and aren’t sure how to escape.
That disorder is bigorexia.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) defines bigorexia disorder (yes, this is a medically recognized and diagnosable illness) as a body dysmorphic disorder that triggers a preoccupation with the idea that your body is too small or not muscular enough. For this reason, many use the terms “bigorexia” and “muscle dysmorphia” interchangeably.
How we’ve gone from buff to bulging
By nature, cisgender males have a physiological predisposition to possess a higher amount of muscle mass than their female counterparts. But has man’s desire to possess an unnaturally greater amount of muscle than what is functionally beneficial to his livelihood rooted deep in the past, or is it a relatively new phenomenon?
To help answer that question, let’s consider some of the world’s most prominent historical figures from the 19th century and prior. We’ve got:
Jesus
Muhammad
Christopher Columbus
Genghis Khan
Napolean
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Thinking back on images of these men I saw in history class, “ripped” isn’t exactly an adjective I would use to describe them. Of course, that’s not to say no men back in the day fit that descriptor.
I may be putting more faith in the history books than I rightfully should, but Julius Caesar and Peter the Great seemed pretty beefy, from what I can recall. And it seems the Greeks, in general, had an affliction for chiseled abs.
Regardless, we can deduce both very built and very slim men have long existed and that the cultural wave of mega muscles formed relatively recently.
~1880–1920: Muscular Christianity
Research indicates the deep linkage between a strong, muscular physique and masculinity emanated from a movement birthed in Britain in the late 19th century called “Muscular Christianity.” This philosophy supported two primary objectives:
to increase men’s commitment to their health; and
to increase men’s commitment to their faith.
(Let’s be clear here, too, that by “men” we’re referring to cis, white, Christian males — no females, minorities, or the sacrilegious.)
Muscular Christians believed athletics and exercise cultivated masculine traits like bodily strength, pain tolerance, and confidence, as well as wielded the desire and capacity to direct power and aggression towards god rather than temptation.
Men who disobeyed this philosophy endured shame and ridicule for their “chosen” weak and infirmed bodies.
“Since every part of our nature is the sacred gift of God, he who neglects his body, who calumniates his body, who misuses it, who allows it to grow up puny, frail, sickly, misshapen, homely, commits a sin against the Giver of the body. Ordinarily, therefore, disease is a sin. Round shoulders and narrow chests are states of criminality. The dyspepsia is heresy. The headache is infidelity. It is as truly a man’s moral duty to have a good digestion, and sweet breath, and strong arms, and stalwart legs, and an erect bearing, as it is to read his Bible, or say his prayers, or love his neighbor as himself.”
– Moses Coit Tyler
Author of The Brawnville Papers (1869);
Certified not cool dude
While Muscular Christianity waned in the 1920s, the movement’s blueprint lives on through organizations like the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), Fellowship of Christian athletes, and the proliferation of churches with built-in recreational facilities to promote physical activity among congregants.
1930s–present day: bodybuilding
The craze around extreme weight-lifting took shape in the 1930s as more people developed steady fitness regimes.
Bodybuilding competitions became commonplace by the 1960s — right on queue with the Golden Age of the television. For both fans and aspiring contestants, these competitions thwarted a lifestyle consumed by working out, strict dieting, and anabolic steroid use to achieve maximum muscle growth and fat elimination.
“Toronto — August 1986” by canoe too is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Today, this hypermasculine ideal bleeds well beyond physique and bodybuilding competitions, contributing to the unhealthy obsession people — predominantly young men — have with building a bulging body.
Early 90s–present day: bigorexia
Bigorexia/muscle dysmorphia and body dysmorphia are similar in that the individual has a fixation on a certain feature or body part they feel insecure about and are willing to go to great lengths to alter or disguise. In the case of muscle dysmorphia, that body part can range from a single set of muscles to every individual muscle group.
What exacerbates the disorder is the often skewed perception sufferers of bigorexia have over their own bodies. They can see someone with the same quadricep circumference yet feel like their own quadriceps are far smaller.
Likewise, they can reach a goal to be a certain size, weight, BMI, etc. but feel nothing except further compulsion to build more muscle.
The desire to reach often unattainable levels of muscularity can come with several high costs:
Time: Some people suffering from bigorexia are spending several hours a day working out.
Relationships: Workouts take precedence over friendships, intimate partnerships, and family.
Work or School: Performance on the job or in the classroom can suffer due to a lack of energy — mental and physical — that has been exhausted by training.
Money: Supplements, protein shakes, bodybuilding products that contain steroids or steroid-like substances, and — for those at the competitive level — the participation and travel to competitions can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars each month.
Well-being: While the motivation to build muscle mass oftentimes comes with the hope of improved self-confidence and social status, the results couldn’t be more opposite. Instead, people are fighting a never-ending battle to be bigger. They have obsessive thoughts about appearance, are missing out on time with friends and loved ones, struggle with sleep and concentration, experience heightened anxiety, and lack meaningful personal connections that can cause bouts of depression and loneliness. What’s more, the strict diets many adhere to can lead to disordered eating or even full-blown eating disorders, like orthorexia, anorexia, and bulimia.
Identity: Despite the hit bodybuilding can take on well-being, once someone fully ingrains themselves into the community, they may feel there’s no escaping it. Letting go of the image they’ve established for themselves as “the ultra-fit guy” or the “muscle-building machine” can ignite the fear of disappointment, or the ego kicks in and banishes the idea of returning to life as an “ordinary” person.
Existence: Some — including teenagers — have died from strokes and heart attacks as a result of their extreme training and steroid use, which can also lead to other life-threatening conditions like kidney damage, pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in the lungs), and deep vein thrombosis (blood clots that occur in veins deep in the body).
Why bigorexia is a growing problem
Cultural norms, ideals, and stigma have not only contributed to the surge of muscle and body dysmorphia cases, but they are also playing an antagonistic role in the fight against them.
What’s commonplace gets overlooked
The danger in the status quo is the difficulty in recognizing the possible harm it poses to ourselves and society. In the case of bigorexia, If enough people live a certain way, we assume it must be safe, normal, or even ideal.
In the same way diet culture asserts thinness as the gold standard, the vast litany of male bodybuilding influencers permeates the message that more muscle equates to increased popularity and improved self-esteem.
Adding up the followers of a few top bodybuilding influencers on YouTube and TikTok alone indicates millions of teen boys and young adult men have bought into that message, creating an even larger wave of influence and notoriety in the fitness space.
With the growing interest in bodybuilding, the already fine line we walk between fit and fanatic is becoming even more unclear.
What’s revered goes unquestioned
How often do you see someone achieve an unthinkable fitness feat and get criticized for it?
Next to never.
Our society marvels at individuals who cross perceived human limitations, set world records, and never cease to the challenge.
While innocuous to a certain extent, this indelible desire for achievement can breed the mentality that enough is never enough.
For a 15-year-old kid, this can mean the goal of reaching 12% body fat quickly becomes 10%, then 8%, and so on and so forth.
We also condone (and for scientifically-based reasons) regular physical activity as a means of leading a healthy lifestyle, so when we see someone opting for the gym over a pizza outing with friends, the yellow flags don’t automatically go up.
One obvious evil, however, is the focus western culture places on looks and physique. While certain strides have been made to dismantle certain image-based ideals, it only takes watching the latest blockbuster film to be reminded that muscles still mirror manliness.
This combination of expectations, competitive prowess, healthy lifestyle perceptions (and misconceptions), and societal pressures leave little room for anyone to be worried about the college kid guzzling bottles of Muscle Milk and spending four hours a day at the student rec center.
What’s stigmatized remains untreated
Another trait our society often associates with masculinity is emotional fortitude. Exhibiting vulnerability is viewed by some as a sign of weakness, so even someone deep in the struggle of bigorexia may not feel safe or inclined to get help. Doing so falls completely out of line with the doctrine of beliefs they’ve abided by in their relentless quest for extreme strength and masculinity.
Thus, they often choose to either continue their disordered behaviors or hope they can carve out a path back to “normalcy” all on their own. While laudable, the latter can sometimes entail extensive grieving and the formation of different disordered behaviors as a means to cope with their new reality and existence.
Why you should care
I’ve mainly discussed the effects Bigorexia has on young males in this article (because this seems to be a highly affected demographic), but people of all sexes, ages, and genders suffer from muscle dysmorphia.
It could be your daughter.
Your nephew.
Your neighbor.
The mailman.
How you can be the bigger person
Although bigorexia is a big problem, your simple awareness of it is step one in helping combat it.
Be mindful of the comments you make about someone engaging in intense muscle-building workouts. The more praise you give, the more coals you could be tossing into the already destructive fire.
If someone possesses a preoccupation with bodybuilding that’s interfering with family dynamics, social connection, or their own well-being, ask them if they are okay. Express your genuine concern in a non-threatening manner. You asking could be the wake-up call they’re needing.
Lastly, encourage (or instigate if you are a parent/guardian) a consultation with a medical physician and licensed therapist who can conduct physical and mental health evaluations for you or your loved one. If necessary, they will form an individualized treatment plan to aid in the recovery process.
In the end, what you say and what you do could make a lasting impact. Hell, it may even save a life.
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Note: I am not a therapist, dietitian, or licensed mental health professional. I do not take the place of such, thus I cannot provide treatment or give associated professional medical advice.
