A recent study presented on Thursday at the American Psychological Association’s annual convention showed that men who are obsessed with getting ripped may be abusing supplements to the point that it’s harming their emotional or physiological health, according to Keranews.
As more and more men continue to misuse legal, over-the-counter supplements, theories have emerged that this practice may qualify as a newly emerging eating disorder, according to The Huffington Post.
For the research, psychotherapists Richard Achiro and Peter Theodore reportedly recruited 195 male participants between the ages of 18 and 65 who had consumed legal appearance or performance enhancing supplements in the past 30 days and exercised for fitness or appearance-related reasons a minimum of two times a week.
Once the men filled out the online survey, Achiro and Theodore reportedly created a scale on which to measure the resulting data as it correlates to other indicators of eating disorders. The results of the survey reportedly found that 30 percent of the participants were concerned about their own supplement use.
"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 in a statement.
"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."
Researchers reportedly found that a primary reason behind supplement use is body dissatisfaction. The men reportedly internalize a specific set of cultural standards of attractiveness, which is generally a more muscular, lean physique.
“This isn't just about the body," Achiro said.
“What this is really about is what the body represents for these men. It seems that the findings in part [show] this is a way of compensating for their insecurity or low self-esteem."
