Muscle Dysmorphia

Muscle dysmorphia is a subtype of the obsessive mental disorder body dysmorphic disorder, though it is often grouped with eating disorders, in which the sufferer holds the delusional or exaggerated belief that their own body is too small, too skinny, insufficiently muscular, or insufficiently lean, even though in most cases their build is normal or already exceptionally large and muscular; it is sometimes called bigorexia, megarexia, or reverse anorexia. It affects mostly men, particularly those in sports where body size or weight are competitive factors, and the pursuit of a corrected body can consume inordinate time, attention, and resources on exercise routines, dietary regimens, and nutritional supplementation, with anabolic steroid use also common. Muscle dysmorphia is especially difficult to recognize because awareness of it is scarce and sufferers typically remain healthy looking, and compared with other body dysmorphic disorders its rates of suicide attempts are especially high.