While most people are aware of the disease anorexia, bigorexia, a similar disease, has gone virtually unnoticed. Bigorexia is a form of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) that is found mostly in young males. Males who suffer from bigorexia become fixated on what they think is a physical flaw in their appearance. People with BDD feel they are small and think they need to bulk up to improve their appearance by exercising excessively or even taking steroids.
According to studies conducted by Eric Hollander, a professor of psychiatry at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, approximately two percent of the population suffers from BDD.
BDD is often not recognized as dangerous because parents and health care workers think most, if not all, exercise is good. But even though both body builders and bigorexia sufferers want to become stronger and bulkier by working out, the two are not to be confused with each other.
People who suffer from BDD honestly believe that they look small, much like women who suffer from anorexia think they look fat. Bigorexia sufferers are fully aware of the risks of their condition and are willing to take steroids and many other illegal drugs to get bigger. Self-conscious of their bodies, bigorexics are always looking at themselves in the mirror. Scared of what others will think of them, they avoid going outdoors and try to stay inside as much as possible.
When they do venture outdoors, most head to the local vitamin supplement store, where they buy anything from creatine, a muscle enhancing supplement used by weight lifters, to weight gainers.
"Out of about 400 people who come in every week, I would say one-third of them are young males looking to put on weight," General Nutrition Center manager Mark Pepin said.
Pepin also added that the majority of young males that come in are looking to bulk up to have the physical edge over the other players in their sport.
"I think working out definitely gives you a edge in sports," junior E.J. Edmerson said.
Edmerson does not take supplements to bulk up.
Pepin also suggests that the overall diet of Americans today is lacking vital nutrients. He advises his customers to take either a type of weight gainer or multi-vitamin to give their body the energy it needs to bulk up.
Causes for bigorexia vary. BDD sufferers can feel pressured to be bigger from peers, coaches, mediaand family to either perform better in sports or because they are constantly being harassed by classmates. Bigorexia can also be caused by a hormone secreted by the brain known as an endorphin rush. This rush has pain killing and tranquilizing effects on the body when, in this case, working out. The body does not feel any pain, and working out becomes a craving.
"Bigorexia is not as harmful on the body as anorexia because anorexia does more harm than good on the body," physical trainer Robert Asuncion said.
Asuncion also pointed out that he sees people who come in every day to work out, but he has not seen any extreme cases of bigorexia.
Some sufferers of BDD and anorexia bulk up and try to get thin to appear more attractive. Males may feel that they need to be bigger to get dates, while females feel the need to be smaller to be attractive to the opposite sex.
"I think girls like guys that are toned and in shape," Edmerson said.
Some students go too far when trying to attract the opposite sex and end up developing a problem.
"If you lift weights for athletic reasons and to stay fit, it is OK. But if you lift weights just for the purpose of bulking up, then that's when it becomes a problem," varsity basketball coach Rick Seely said.
The good news is that there are many options to treat bigorexia. Behavior therapy along with drug therapy can, in most cases, be very effective.