Flexing and hurting: Thanks to social media, the buff body trend has grown stronger among men. But when taken to extremes, it can end up hurting one’s body image, mental health and physical wellbeing. — MOHD SAHAR MISNI/The Star
“BRO, how do I get a six-pack?”
That is the most common question asked of Hasif Darwish whenever a new member joins his gym centre in Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam. The 31-year-old certified trainer often tries to push health and fitness in his training regiments on the initiates, but all they want to hear about is how to sculpt their abs and improve their looks.
“We have clients who train their focus only on looking good instead of health. Usually after classes, they will come and ask, ‘Hey coach, how do I make my tummy smaller, how do I make my legs smaller?’”
Some will come to work out while staring at themselves in the mirror or on the phone, he adds.
“They will always need a mirror to find out if they look good (or better after working out). That is what they are focusing on.”
He expects more to flock to his gym this month as many try to keep their New Year’s health and fitness resolutions.
As Hasif illustrates, the pressure to “look good” is no longer – at least openly – a woman’s malaise.
And thanks to TikTok and other social media sites, the buff body trend has grown stronger. But the idealised bigger, bulkier male body can be unrealistic or harder to achieve. When taken to extremes, it can also end up hurting one’s body image, mental health, and physical wellbeing. It can even lead some down the rabbit hole of substance abuse.
Noting that many of his gym members are driven by societal and online pressures to achieve that ideal body, Hasif says most of these young men are typically aged between 18 and 40, have jobs or are college students. However, there have been enquiries from younger males.
Most gyms require members to be at least 16 years old to use the facilities unsupervised while some gyms allow teenagers aged 14-15 to work out, but only if they have parental consent. More often than not these are school and budding national athletes.
“In the fitness world, if you look at Instagram, they [influencers] will show you all the six-pack abs, toned bodies and all that. Some clients will also ask what they can do to have bodies like celebrities.
“I have been in this industry for about six years now. Among men, I would say about 60% of men are into this.”
This behaviour, if allowed to grow into an obsession, can lead to a body dysmorphic disorder dubbed as “muscle dysmorphia” or “bigorexia”, experts warn.
Warped self-view
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is defined as “an overwhelming preoccupation with a perceived flaw in one’s physical appearance”.
Although not yet a clinical diagnosis, muscle dysmorphia can be considered a subcategory of BBD and is part of the cultural lexicon to describe “body image issues faced by young men and boys who are obsessed with the muscularity and/or leanness of their physique.”
Malaysian Psychiatric Association past president Dr Hazli Zakaria says while there are no relevant studies on its prevalence in Malaysia yet, the most common ideals of a masculine trait that have long nestled in our cultural mindset of men revolve around two adages: “size does matter” and “the bigger the better”.
These are examples of how most men view being masculine, especially when it comes to body build and genitals.
“This traditional view of masculinity is still very common among Malaysians, and could be associated with BDD, especially its subcategory, muscle dysmorphia, which is also known as ‘reverse anorexia’.”
Dr Hazli says men with BDD are usually fixated with one of physical features such as skin, hair, shape of face or nose, body size, height or genitals. — Photo provided
In outlining common symptoms, Dr Hazli says people with muscle dysmorphia believe they are not muscular enough and are overly concerned with their build.
“They usually exercise excessively to the extent of harming their body, take extra supplements and protein, and more likely misuse steroid and other muscle-enhancing drugs.”
He says research on men’s body image shows that more young men, including teenagers, are dissatisfied with their body and desire to be more muscular, as reflected in how the portrayal of masculinity is changing on social media.
“To fulfil societal expectations and be accepted as ‘normal’, men with BDD and muscle dysmorphia will resort to any means to achieve their objectives.
“Most of them will choose alternative illegal enhancement or enlargement products available online or from secretive outlets instead of getting such products from registered healthcare facilities because of the feeling of shame. This will lead to more complications.”
The founder of mental health service provider Relate Malaysia, clinical psychologist Dr Chua Sook Ning, agrees that there has not been much research on muscle dysmorphia since it is relatively new; the first instances of its discovery were in the 1990s.
“But definitely more research needs to be done in Malaysia on body image-related disorders.
“Research has shown that public health initiatives that focus on weight loss in an attempt to reduce the prevalence of obesity may actually have a negative effect on body image and promote unhealthy weight loss strategies.”
Of course, social media plays a role in magnifying concerns about appearances, says Dr Chua.
“Social media, particularly image-based social media, is consistently associated with appearance concerns. High social media use is associated with social comparison, internalisation of body ideals – thin ideal, muscular ideal – and poorer body image.”
Dr Chua says there is a lack of epidemiology research in Malaysia on BDD. — Relate Malaysia
A dangerous shortcut
Unfortunately, as highlighted by Dr Hazli, the obsession to realise a muscular body often comes with the desire to look for a shortcut; usually with the use of performance enhancing drugs such as testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and selective androgen receptor modulators (SARM).
TRT usually comes in the form of shots, patches or gel to boost testosterone levels, while SARM is used to activate androgen receptors in specific tissues, promoting muscle and bone growth.
In Malaysia, Hasif says SARMs are much more common and are sold widely on online shopping platforms.
“Anyone can buy them. What is the desired effect? Well, they want huge muscles.”
SARMs are sold widely on online shopping platforms.
Those treading the vanity path often aspire to look like celebrities with lean or muscular bodies, especially as seen on social media.
“It is good to have such goals, but if you want to reach such a level, let me be honest, you’ll need performance enhancing drugs, and you have to work hard.
“Without those, you will not be able to achieve that look. That said, it must be remembered that such looks are usually worked on by those competing in the body-building competition.
“This is because the human body would not be able to sustain on just 1% body fat. We cannot do that.”
Using performance enhancing drugs alone will not guarantee the desired bulk, as other factors such as workout regimens and genetics are also involved.
“Even if you take performance enhancing drugs but you don’t work hard enough, you won’t get the results.”
And taking performance enhancing drugs such as SARMs is not a necessarily safe endeavour – it is commonly linked to sexual dysfunction, testicular shrinkage, hallucinations, strokes and heart attacks, among others.
“It is their choice if they want to use performance enhancing drugs. But as trainers, we do not encourage them to do so,” says Hasif.
Dr Chua says those with muscle dysmorphia potentially will resort to performance enhancing drugs.
“Muscle dysmorphia is a risk factor for anabolic steroid abuse, and other appearance and performance enhancing drugs like SARMs.”
Drugs need to be registered with the Drug Control Authority before they can be legally sold in Malaysia. As such, the Pharmaceutical Enforcement Division of the Health Ministry regularly cracks down on those selling unregistered health products. At the same time, the Health Ministry via the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency has various safeguards in place to help consumers identify the legitimacy of a product.
However, social media remains a grey area.
Getting the right tone
When it comes to those who hit the gym for vanity purposes, Hasif advises those seeking to better their appearances to be aware of their limits.
“It is not wrong to look good, but we must be aware of our limits.
“Everything that we do, must be done in moderation.
“Again, fitness is all about doing things A to Z. Yes, you work out hard, but you also have to look into your nutrition, manage your stress and sleep. That is what fitness is all about.”
From his experience as a trainer, Hasif says those who focus on looks will always find something not up to mark even if they have reached their intended goals.
“There is always something that they will not be satisfied with, even after reaching their goal.
“There is always something that is not up to their standards.
“They will always ask: ‘What should I do next’? There is always a question about how to make themselves look better. Actually, they do look good.
“They look like normal.”
If you are struggling with body dysmorphic disorder or muscle dysmorphia, or know anyone with the condition, reach out to the Mental Health Psychosocial Support Service at 03-2935 9935/ 014-322 3392 or the Malaysian Mental Health Association’s psychological therapy and support services at 03-2780 6803.
