A young Chinese athlete weightlifting at the Xiamen Competitive Sports Management Center in Xiamen. In Malaysia most gyms require members to be at least 16 years old to use the facilities unsupervised. Some gyms allow teenagers aged 14-15 to work out, with parental consent. Usually they are school and budding national athletes.— Global Times
“I WANT to start working out.”
For many parents today, it is music to their ears when their son or daughter suddenly says this – especially when most prefer to be stuck in their rooms, glued to their phones and game consoles.
But it is important that parents pause, and ask this question first: “Why?”
In North America, research shows that social media is fuelling muscle dysmorphia among youth – the relentless aesthetic trends online are leading to the sinister consequence of low self-esteem and mental health issues when people are expected to live up to these unrealistic standards.
This danger is multiplied when it comes to children who are exposed to such content online – through their own natural curiosity or by the algorithm – at a younger and younger age. On top of that, whenever we talk about body image and self-esteem issues, young men and boys are often left out of the conversation.
Muscle dysmorphia is a subcategory of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) which has been defined as a mental health condition in which you can’t stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in your appearance – a flaw that appears minor or can’t be seen by others. With muscle dysmorphia, one believes that one is not muscular enough and develops an unhealthy obsession with bulking up.
Last year, the University of Toronto carried out research on 912 Canadian teenagers and young adults and found that the usage of filters on social networks such as Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat could exacerbate muscle dysmorphia in young, growing adolescents.
The study found that boys were more affected by the phenomenon compared with girls, who experienced other forms of dysmorphia linked to social media photo filters.
“Muscle dysmorphia symptomatology is more common among boys and men, including over 25% of boys and young men in a Canadian community sample displaying clinically relevant symptoms,” the study reads.
In general, clinical psychologist Dr Chua Sook Ning – the founder of mental health service provider Relate Malaysia – says there is still a lack of epidemiology research in Malaysia so it is, for now, not possible to estimate the national prevalence of BDD and its subcategories.
However, she says a survey conducted with male university students in Malaysia estimated that 3.3% of them had symptoms of BDD (Kang et al, 2022).
“Nevertheless, in general, women tend to have a higher prevalence of BDD than men, and youth have a higher prevalence of BDD than adults.”
The study, which involved 1,308 male students between the ages of 17 and 26 years old in a private university in Malaysia, found:
> Around 60% of respondents were worried about their appearance
> 39.6% were dissatisfied with their whole body
> 37.1% were unhappy about their face
> 54.2% also had symptoms of depression
“A significant association was demonstrated between the presence of BDD and depression symptoms,” the study noted.
Dr Chua says a person with BDD will engage in repetitive compulsive behaviours such as mirror checking, excessive grooming, mentally comparing appearance with others, or reassurance seeking.
“These repetitive behaviours and/or mental acts are done to reduce the distress caused by appearance concerns,” she says.
Men with BDD believe strongly that there are obvious flaws or significant defects in their appearance, says Malaysian Psychiatric Association past president Dr Hazli Zakaria.
“Men with BDD are usually fixated by one of their physical features, such as skin, hair, the shape of their face or nose, body size, height, or genitals.
“To them the defects are real and don’t just make them feel dissatisfied with their appearance but could lead to a feeling of shame for being ‘ugly’. As a result, they will try to fix the perceived flaw, hide or cover it up.
“Nowadays it is common for men to spend more time on their appearance but for those with BDD, they are not just overly preoccupied with the look or shape of specific parts but it is the shame they experience about their appearance that makes the difference.”
While the warning signs are similar to those in adult males, when boys develop muscle dysmorphia, it could impair their social, school and daily functioning.
This danger is multiplied when it comes to children who are exposed to such content online – through their own natural curiosity or by the algorithm – at a younger and younger age. — This visual is human-created, AI-aided
Curbing it at the root
Last December, the Online Safety Bill was passed in Parliament – a law which the government said is meant to protect children from harmful content online, among others.
Unfortunately, legislation can only do so much to address the pervasive mental health effects of something not so immediately harmful, such as these looks-based trends online, says Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF) chief executive officer Mediha Mahmood.
“Legislation, like the Online Safety Act, provides an essential framework, but it can only go so far.
“To truly safeguard social media users, especially vulnerable groups like young boys and men who may feel pressured to conform to unrealistic standards, a multi-pronged approach is critical.
“While legislation provides the foundation, awareness and proactive conversations within families and communities bring sustainable change.” she says.
CMCF actively contributes to raising awareness and advocacy work in this area through their workshops where they promote media literacy and online safety while equipping users with tools to navigate social media responsibly.
In some of the workshops, parents and guardians are guided on how to spot signs of distress, such as low self-esteem or harmful behaviours, linked to BDD and other dangerous beauty trends like “bone smashing” or harmful content via hashtags such as #LooksMaxxing, she adds.
Parents or guardians are also highly encouraged to have age-appropriate conversations about online pressures with their children, regardless of gender.
“We need to break the stigma and address harmful stereotypes because beauty trends and pressures are no longer concentrated on women and young girls but also extend to men and young boys,” Mediha says.
Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim concurs that more regulation is not the solution.
“Rather, the problem appears to be more of a mental health issue which causes children to seek ways to enhance their self-esteem,” she notes.
In that case, she says, the likeliest solution would be proper counselling and adequate support.
“Create more channels where parents and/or youths can go to seek counselling or have access to support groups to help with such problems,” she urges.
Ultimately, Mediha says, protecting young social media users will require collaboration.
“Regulators, tech platforms, schools, families and organisations like ours must work together to create a balanced digital ecosystem – one that values diversity, fosters mental well-being and encourages positive online engagement.”
Signs of muscle dysmorphia in teens and children:
> No longer eating with families or friends
> Skipping meals
> Anxiety/anger when exercise routine disrupted
> Obsessive mirror checking
> Following diets that are high protein/low fat
> Preoccupation with certain body parts
> Withdrawal in activity from usual activities and/or friends
> Sudden interest in muscle-building supplements (like protein powder)
> Curiosity about steroids
> Excessive exercise duration and/or frequency
> Preoccupation with muscle- or fitness-centric social media
Source: Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation
If you’re already seeing the warning signs, it’s time to discuss all this with your kids, says the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation. The global body advises parents to avoid discussing their child’s appearance with them and instead focus on the distress it’s causing them.
If the problematic behaviour continues, it’s time to call in professional help.
If you suspect that your child is struggling with body dysmorphic disorder or muscle dysmorphia, or if you are concerned about someone you know who is coping with the condition, you can 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.
