For a body-conscious woman, standing in the grocery checkout line can be an anxiety-inducing endeavor: Buying food while facing a wall of magazine covers featuring drop-dead-gorgeous celebrities and super-skinny super-models.
But what was once a female-only problem may be extending to men, with lean, muscular guys baring their lightly oiled chests and sculpted abs on covers of glossies such as Men's Health, Men's Journal, Muscle and Fitness and more.
Scientists are starting to take notice and explore how sexual objectification in popular culture may be affecting the psyche of boys and men. But while the research remains scant, the issue is a growing concern, says Peter Theodore, with the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University.
"We are seeing more and more images of men in skimpy clothing — something that's happened to women for years," Theodore said. "But since it has been occurring, I think more and more men are becoming body conscious. It doesn't always play out in terms of men developing a pathological way of thinking or a disorder, but in some men, it does seem to play out that way."
Theodore recently co-wrote a paper with psychologist Richard Achiro to study whether the use of dietary supplements such as protein powders, creatine and other performance- and muscle-enhancing boosters contribute to unhealthy eating habits — and even eating disorders — in men.
In a study of nearly 200 men ages 18 to 25 who said they work out at least twice a week and use performance-enhancing dietary supplements, Achiro and Theodore found that more than 40 percent said they increased their use of these products over time and nearly a quarter said they sometimes replaced regular meals with supplements.
Nearly 30 percent said they were concerned about their own use, and 8 percent said their physician had instructed them to cut back or stop using dietary supplements altogether due to side effects, either real or potential.
What's driving the misuse, Achiro said, appears to be factors including body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem and gender-role conflict, in which an individual believes he is not living up to the standards of masculinity set by modern culture.
"Body-conscious men who are driven by psychological factors to attain a level of physical or masculine 'perfection' are prone to use these supplements and drugs in a manner that is excessive and which was demonstrated in this study to be a variant of disordered eating," Achiro said.
Theodore defined "disordered eating" as abnormal eating behaviors, which could be a sign of a more serious eating disorder, to include calorie restriction, obsessive counting of calories, meal substitution, food avoidance and excessive workouts.
Dietary supplement use has long been a concern in the military, not only for effects on performance and stamina but for the potential risks posed to troops. A 2005 study indicated that as many as 60 percent of active-duty personnel use dietary supplements, including legal bodybuilding and thermal-enhancing supplements.
Theodore said no studies have been done on disordered eating in the military but said the hyper-masculine military community, with its emphasis on fitness, height and weight standards, and strength, is an atmosphere in which men may be vulnerable.
The researchers, who presented their work as a paper at the American Psychological Association annual meeting in Toronto on Aug. 6, said they are not ready to say abuse of body performance supplements is an eating disorder, but added that larger studies should be done to further an understanding on the potential risks of supplement misuse.
"As legal supplements become increasingly prevalent around the globe, it is all the more important to assess and treat the psychological causes and effects of excessive use of these drugs and supplements," Achiro said.
Theodore also said they want to raise awareness of the risks of using these supplements, not only to minimize the risk of any psychological stress related to trying to develop an unobtainable physique, but also to protect the bodies they are trying to build.
"Many people ... feel that herbal supplements can be used without any concerns because they are not drugs. They are. And these weight supplements are drugs, and they have an impact on their bodies," he said.
Patricia Kime is a senior writer covering military and veterans health care, medicine and personnel issues.
