Body image and psychopathology in male bodybuilders

Background: To compare male bodybuilders to men with eating disorders and c ontrol men regarding body image, psychopathology and sexual history. Method : We compared 28 male bodybuilders, 30 men with eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia or binge eating disorder defined by DSM-IV), and 30 contro ls, using a battery of questionnaires covering weight history, eating behav ior, body image, lifetime history of psychiatric disorders, and sexuality. Eating-disordered and control men were recruited from a college student pop ulation and studied during the course of an earlier investigation. Results: Bodybuilders exhibited a pattern of eating and exercising as obsessive as that of subjects with eating disorders, but with a 'reverse' focus of gaini ng muscle as opposed to losing fat. Bodybuilders displayed rates of psychia tric disorders intermediate between men with eating disorders and control m en. In measures of body image, the bodybuilders closely resembled the men w ith eating disorders, but significantly differed from the control men, with the former two groups consistently displaying greater dissatisfaction than the latter. Sexual functioning did not distinguish the three groups except for the item 'lack of sexual desire' which was reported significantly more often by both bodybuilders and men with eating disorders. Conclusion: On m easures of body image and eating behavior, bodybuilders share many features of individuals with eating disorders. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Bas el.