‘Bigorexia’ and Body Dysmorphia: Are You Big Enough?

By George Touliatos, MD

Q: I’ve heard that bodybuilders suffer from the so-called “bigorexia.” What’s that, Doc?

A: Basically it’s body image discomfort. I’m other words, wrong perception of body composition. Bigorexia technically is the reverse of anorexia nervosa – the obsession that runway models in the fashion industry have about their size and weight in particular. All these psychiatric cases belong to body dysmorphia issues. So bodybuilders feel kind of small in size and sort of insecure about how big they are, while their enormous muscularity isn’t enough for their ambitions. From one point of view, this is a mindset that can lead to progress and has perspective, in terms of getting bigger and focus in anabolic processing. However, in reality standards it’s a misconception about the way you look. It’s all in the mind. The flip side of this coin deals with skinny boys and girls who are literally terrified to gain few pounds of weight – a phobia of getting fatter.

Another type of body dysmorphia is when people avoid laughing and smiling because they wrongly believe their cheeks or nose are unattractive. Therefore, they’re trapped inside their own wrong thoughts.

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I myself was a unique example of anorexia nervosa in high school and bigorexia later in my life – both dealing with low self-confidence and lack of self-esteem. Bodybuilders are insecure individuals who are paranoid about their body image. They surely are alpha males. But the price of their vanity is pretty high.

George Touliatos, MD is an author, lecturer, champion competitive bodybuilder and expert in medical prevention regarding PED use in sports. Dr. Touliatos specializes in medical biopathology and is the medical associate of Orthobiotiki.gr and Medihall.gr, Age Management and Preventive Clinics in Athens, Greece. Heis the author of four Greek books on bodybuilding, has extensively developed articles for www.anabolic.org and is the medical associate for the book “Anabolics, 11th Edition” (2017). Dr. Touliatos has been a columnist for the Greek editions of MuscleMag and Muscular Development magazines, and has participated in several seminars across Greece and Cyprus, making numerous TV and radio appearances, doing interviews in print and online. His personal website is https://gtoul.com/

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