Some teens who see themselves as puny and exercise to gain weight may be more likely to develop so-called muscularity-related eating disorders, a US study suggests. This type of disordered eating typically involves eating more or differently to gain weight or bulk up, or using supplements or anabolic steroids to accomplish that effect, researchers note in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.
Teens with muscularity-related eating disorders may also exercise excessively or go back and forth between periods of excessive protein consumption and calorie cutting or restricting carbs and fats to achieve the body shape they want. "In moderation, some behaviors such as eating more or different types of food to build muscle or bulk up may not be 'disordered,'" said Dr Jason Nagata, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco who led the study.
"However, engaging in muscle-building or bulking behaviors may put young people at greater risk for developing an eating disorder," Nagata said by email. The researchers followed a nationally-representative sample of 14,891 teens and young adults for seven years starting when they were 15 years old on average.
By the time these young people were 18 to 24 years old, one in 20 females and more than one in five males had one or more symptoms of muscularity-related eating disorders. Left unchecked, these behaviors may escalate to muscle dysmorphia, characterized by rigid diet, obsessive over-exercising and extreme preoccupation with physique, the study team writes. In extreme cases, it can lead to heart failure due to insufficient calories and overexertion, as well as muscle dysmorphia, which is associated with social withdrawal and depression.
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