What Is Bigorexia?

We’ve come a long way as a culture when it comes to awareness of mental health conditions related to body image, like anorexia and binge eating disorder.

But other issues remain less well-known and understood by the general public, even as they become more common. One that experts warn is on the rise in our social media era is a disorder colloquially known as “bigorexia.”

What, exactly, is bigorexia, and what does it entail? Below, experts share how it manifests, risk factors for developing the disorder, and what those affected should know about it.

What is bigorexia?

“Bigorexia is a layperson’s term for what professionals call muscle dysmorphia, which is a sub-category of body dysmorphic disorder,” Joseph J. Trunzo, a psychology professor and associate director of the School of Health & Behavioral Sciences at Bryant University, told HuffPost. “In BDD, an individual has an unrealistic, borderline delusional belief about some part of the body being severely abnormal, even grotesque.”

With bigorexia, there’s a distorted self-image and preoccupation around the idea of not being muscular enough.

“People with this disorder often perceive themselves as being smaller or less muscular than they actually are, even if they have a muscular body,” said therapist Kara Becker, who is a certified eating disorder specialist and national director of eating disorder programs at Newport Healthcare. “They may engage in excessive weightlifting, use steroids or unregulated supplements, or follow extreme diets in an attempt to build muscle, often with negative effects on their physical and mental health.”

Although bigorexia can affect people of any gender, it’s commonly found in men.

Jason Nagata, a pediatrician specializing in eating disorders in boys and men at the University of California, San Francisco, noted a key warning sign of bigorexia is a fixation with body size, weight, appearance, physical activity and food in a manner that worsens one’s quality of life.

A person with the disorder might not be consuming enough nutrients to meet the energy needed for their excessive exercise, and their emotional response can also feel off.

“If someone says that the exercise is causing them more worry or preoccupation than joy, and when it starts to impair their work or daily functioning, those are potential red flags for muscle dysmorphia,” Nagata said.

What causes bigorexia?

“Muscle dysmorphia is often underreported and is likely caused by a combination of several factors, including a genetic predisposition as well as psychological factors contributing to the development of the disorder,” said Amy Gooding, a clinical psychologist at Eating Recovery Center, Baltimore.

Psychological factors that might increase someone’s risk of developing bigorexia include perfectionism, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, obsessive-compulsive tendencies and negative early life experiences like being bullied or other traumatic events.

“Athletes who are involved in sports that emphasize strength and physique, such as body building or wrestling, tend to be at higher risk,” Trunzo noted.

Although there is more awareness today around eating disorders and body image issues in general, muscle dysmorphia is less well-known and thus tends to be underreported. Gooding believes people overlook the condition in part because it can lead to behaviors that are often encouraged in weight training.

“For example, if someone believes they are smaller than they truly are, they will spend more time in the gym and often start to eat a stricter diet,” she said. “For athletes, their coach might see this as someone who is showing commitment to their sport and may be praised for these behaviors in the beginning. What coaches or peers don’t see is the extreme behaviors and harmful, intrusive thoughts that may be hidden from view.”

Sociocultural factors can also contribute to the development of bigorexia.

“Diet and fitness culture surrounds us everywhere we go ― magazine covers displayed at the grocery store checkout, scrolling our social media, conversations with our friends,” Gooding noted. “We’re bombarded with images of muscular, lean, chiseled bodies or discussions about how to make ourselves ‘leaner and fit.’”

At the start of the new year, there are seemingly endless “New Year, New You” articles and advertisements for products and methods that will lead to a toned body. This messaging compounds and can make us start to believe that is the ideal ― and perhaps the only acceptable ― type of body.

“Combine this with internal dialogue focusing on our flaws and telling us that we need to spend more time at the gym, use steroids or supplements to enhance our performance or appearance, consistent mirror checking, and a fixation on one’s diet, and you’ve got the perfect breeding ground for muscle dysmorphia,” Gooding added.

Why is bigorexia becoming more widespread?

Although bigorexia is not a new disorder, the experts who spoke to HuffPost noted that it’s become more widespread in recent years. Nagata worked on a 2019 study titled “Boys, Bulk, and Body Ideals” that found 30% of adolescent boys in a nationally representative sample of the U.S. reported a desire to gain weight. A follow-up study found that muscle-enhancing behaviors like taking supplements, dietary changes and even steroid use are common among adolescent and young adult males.

“Eating disorders are on the rise among boys and men,” Nagata said. “A recent Canadian study found that hospitalizations for eating disorders in male patients increased by 400% since 2002.”

He believes that the pandemic created a “perfect storm” for body dissatisfaction and eating disorders to develop in men, particularly teenage boys, thanks to the combination of social isolation, rising anxiety, lack of in-person school and activities, and, most notably, the explosion of social media use.

“The emphasis on ideal beauty is nothing new, but the level of our exposure to it most certainly is,” Trunzo said. “Prior to the internet and more specifically, social media, you maybe saw the ideal body in a magazine, on TV, or in the movies. Now, we are constantly bombarded with images of ideal bodies through the small computer we all carry around with us and spend hours a day looking at, excessively consuming media.”

Younger people don’t always fully understand and appreciate the reality that they’re seeing edited photos that were curated to present an ideal image ― an image that is often maintained by a team of personal trainers, chefs and other experts.

“Most 15-year-old kids do not recognize that it is influencers’ full-time job to achieve and maintain the ideal body ― their livelihood depends on it,” Trunzo said. “The adolescent or young person, who doesn’t have a fully developed brain yet, doesn’t think of Hugh Jackman training 8 hours a day for 6 months to be Wolverine, nor do they realize that he does not look like that all the time. They also don’t understand that to get the ‘money shots’ with bulging veins and rippling muscles, he has probably been dehydrated under intense medical supervision to achieve the effect.”

In addition to consuming unrealistic social media, many young people also feel social pressure to produce content and display their own bodies on these platforms, Nagata noted.

“Boys are more likely to allow for public followings, male selfies more likely to be full-body photos to show muscles, and the majority of male body image-related Instagram posts depict muscularity and leanness,” he said. “Men who post on image-based social media may receive positive reinforcement for their appearance. They may be more likely to engage in muscle-enhancing behaviors to achieve a certain body ideal, and the positive feedback they receive from followers may lead to a vicious cycle and bigorexia.”

What should you do if you think you might have bigorexia?

“If you’re avoiding friends or family because you are self-conscious about the way you look, if you’re spending most of your free time trying to change your body, if you’re feeling so distracted by your ‘flaws’ that it’s getting in the way of school or your daily life ― it may be time to seek help for what you’re experiencing,” Gooding said.

Keep in mind that anyone can experience eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorders, but seeking help can be particularly difficult for men, who are often overlooked and face a different kind of stigma for it.

“It takes courage to reach out for assistance, but speaking with a healthcare professional, therapist, or counselor who specializes in eating disorders can be incredibly beneficial,” Nagata said. “These experts can offer guidance, understanding, and customized treatment plans to help you on your recovery journey. Health professionals are bound by confidentiality so will keep any information you share private.”

Opening up to family, friends or even a support group about what you’re feeling can also be a powerful way to find encouragement on your recovery journey.

“One of the most difficult problems for males with bigorexia and other eating disorders is the lack of awareness around male body image issues,” Becker said. “It can be incredibly empowering for someone struggling to know they are not alone in their body image and eating concerns.”

Another helpful step is to identify your triggers and figure out how to reduce your exposure to them.

“Limit social media, especially around appearance-related content,” Nagata advised. “Unfollow and disable notifications from accounts that make you feel worse about your body. More time on social media can lead to more comparisons to peers. This may also lead to more exposure to unattainable body ideals and higher dissatisfaction with one’s own body.”

As you limit your social media consumption, you can free up time to dedicate to positive sources of fulfillment.

“Find other ways that can help you cope with stress or anxiety, like meditation, yoga, or hobbies that you love,” Becker said.

The recovery process is rarely linear or perfect, so remember to be kind to yourself. Celebrate your small victories and remember every small effort counts toward your happiness and health.

If you’re struggling with an eating disorder, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for support.