Young men want to get big. For some, it's becoming an obsession

"The gym is constantly on Dashiell Frederickson's mind. The 16-year-old works out religiously every day, sometimes for up to three hours a day. "The gym is all I can think about during the day," Frederickson said. "I wake up, I'm thinking about the gym. I'm brushing my teeth, I'm thinking about the gym and once I'm finally at the gym, I'm kind of set and I'm happy.""

"Nagata, an eating disorder researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, says negative body image attitudes in boys often stem from the feeling that they aren't muscular enough. A small share of those young men develop an obsession with getting bigger and more muscular also called bigorexia. "It occurs when someone is preoccupied or even obsessed with the idea that they don't have enough muscularity," Nagata said. "In many cases, an individual's build is actually normal or even objectively muscular.""

"Bigorexia was first described in a 1993 case report of nine "large and muscular" bodybuilders who became so preoccupied with working out that they "declined social invitations, refused to be seen at the beach or wore heavy clothes" during the summer, fearing they looked too small in normal clothing."

Dashiell Frederickson, 16, works out daily for up to three hours and thinks about the gym constantly while perceiving his appearance as "horrible" despite friends' compliments. Body dissatisfaction among young people is increasing, with clinicians noting a growing number of boys affected. Negative body image in boys often centers on perceived insufficient muscularity. A subset develops an obsession with getting bigger and more muscular, known as bigorexia. Bigorexia was first described in 1993 in nine large, muscular bodybuilders who became preoccupied with workouts, avoided social situations and beach exposure, and wore heavy clothing out of fear of appearing too small.

Read at www.npr.org