What is ‘bigorexia’? Where does it come from?

According to an article in the Journal of Athletic Training, while American females feel social pressure to appear thin, males “are encouraged to be muscular and ‘ripped.’ We have witnessed a gradual shift in how males perceive their bodies and a growing trend toward a condition called reverse anorexia or bigorexia.” Bigorexia is a form of muscle dysmorphia, a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder preoccupied with developing leanness and muscularity. Often likened to anorexia and bulimia nervosa, it is on the rise, especially in young men.

A New York Times article reposted on Yahoo! News explains that boys and young men are surrounded by unrealistic, hypermasculine images in video games, superhero movies, and increasingly, social media. Pressure to have a certain type of physique is beginning at younger and younger ages, as early as elementary school.

According to the author, “Many doctors and researchers say that the online adulation of muscular male bodies can have a toxic effect on the self-esteem of young men, with the never-ending scroll of six packs and boy-band faces making them feel inadequate and anxious.” While most clinical research on body image disorders has centered around women, disordered body image in males is beginning to receive increased attention:  “A 2019 survey published in the Californian Journal of Health Promotion examined body image in boys. Almost one-third of the 149 boys surveyed, ages 11 to 18, were dissatisfied with their body shapes.”

The New York Times article offers insight into the thinking of high schoolers who have become obsessed with weightlifting, excessively working out, counting calories (orthorexia), and limiting food intake to those that lower weight and build muscle. While it can fly under the radar of body image disorders, since it can masquerade as attention to health and fitness, bigorexia has a destructive cycle all its own.

Social media platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok fuel the obsession, as young men follow prominent exercise gurus bodybuilders and then develop a following of their own. One prominent TikTokker says he got hooked on watching YouTube videos while he was in high school. “Social media, and the pressure to live up to those guys and have that manly looking physique, has completely taken over my life,” he lamented. He explained that his preoccupation with overexercising and diet have left him cut off from family and friends, leaving him isolated and socially anxious. He rejects offers to hang out with others since he could be using that time to build muscle. As his priority became the next day’s workout, he added, “I’ve completely lost my social skills.” Social media has become a poor substitute for real relationships. Once believing becoming more ripped would help him make friends or attract girls, he acknowledges in one video, “Your only new friends are the weights.”

Read more of the research on bigorexia.

Read the full New York Times article here.

Hawgood, Alex. “’What Is ‘Bigorexia’?” The New York Times, 5 Mar 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/bigorexia-155308661.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr

Leone, James et al. “Recognition and Treatment of Muscle Dysmorphia and Related Body Image Disorders.” Journal of Athletic Training, 2005 Oct-Dec; 40(4): 352–359. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1323298/#i1062-6050-40-4-352-b4

Photo by Arthur Edelmans on Unsplash