A researcher from the University of Arkansas revealed that the characteristics associated with muscle dysmorphia have no difference whether or not bodybuilders use steroids. Muscle dysmorphia is actually a disorder characterized by the excessive preoccupation with muscularity and body fat percentage of an individual and is usually suffered by bodybuilders. It is mostly suffered by males when there is a pathological preoccupation with the absence of muscular size and leanness.

Timothy Baghurst, a visiting assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Arkansas, said that he thinks that he suffered the same disorder at one point in his life and it was the reason why he conducted his research. Daniel Kissinger is a licensed professional counselor who helped Baghurst shape and integrate the mental health elements of the study and discussion of muscle dysmorphia. “One of the problems associated with classifying muscular dysmorphia is that, while it is receiving increasing attention in the mental health literature, muscle dysmorphia is not recognized by the American Psychological Association as a distinct mental illness,” said Kissinger.

“Studies have linked muscle dysmorphia with diagnoses from several recognized diagnostic categories, including somatoform disorders, eating disorders, and anxiety disorder,” Kissinger explained. “Still, it is likely that the notion of muscle dysmorphia and its larger clinical implications remain unfamiliar to many mental health professionals.”

Baghurst, in his research, also found that there is no agreement on how muscle dysmorphia should be measured. “Currently, there is no way to measure if a person has muscle dysmorphia,” he said. “Inventories measure only the degree of traits and characteristics associated with muscular dysmorphia.” “With respect to muscle dysmorphia, there is no cut off to determine whether or not someone has it,” Baghurst said. “We have a continuum, where some people fall on the high end, some on the low end, but most fall in the middle.”

During his research, Baghurst divided bodybuilders into “natural” and “non-natural” sub-groups. The former refers to competitions in which bodybuilders will undergo a drug test and must pass a polygraph for not using prohibited drugs. Meanwhile, the non-natural are participants who are not required to pass polygraph nor do not undergo drug testing before a competition.

In this method, Baghurst found that steroid use is not necessary to be concerned with muscularity and leanness. “Most people will assume bodybuilders using steroids are those with muscle dysmorphia,” he said. “By separating natural and non-natural bodybuilders, I found that either group is equally likely to have all of the traits of muscle dysmorphia with the exception of pharmacological use.”

Baghurst also found that males who were weight training to enhance their physique but are not bodybuilders also associated with muscle dysmorphia including dissatisfaction with their size and symmetry. The results of his research were actually published in Body Image last June 2009.

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