When he made his first appearance decades ago, G.I. Joe was a normal-sized guy, dressed in camouflage and toting a rifle. Today, Joe is so bulked up he looks like he could single-handedly hoist a tank to change its tread. Such changes reflect a cultural shift in the idealized male body that is having consequences for the boys playing with Joe and other action figures, says faculty member Dr. Mia Holland.
Boys learn to think that they need to be super strong to be attractive, leading to the distorted thinking and eating patterns previously assumed only to afflict girls. In boys, it’s called Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). While affected girls think their thin bodies are too big, affected boys think their muscular frames are too small.
Both make a mess of their nutrition. Girls under eat; boys strive for buff bodies by either obsessively avoiding fat or overeat to bulk up. Boys do further damage by excessive weightlifting and sometimes resorting to steroids and other hazardous substances.
Media messages affect boys, too
Holland, faculty lead in the School of Human Services, says the influence of cultural images is pervasive. “Forty percent of boys between the ages of 10 and 17 wished they looked like somebody portrayed in the media,” she says. “And 11 percent of adult men would give up five years of their life to have a heavily muscled body.”
Exact figures are elusive because boys are less inclined to receive treatment than girls, but at least 1 in 10 and perhaps 1 in 6 anorexics are male, Holland says. The course of treatment is similar for males and females. “First, we confront them with the cold, hard facts,” she says—blood workups, physical examinations, and other objective information about their health. Next they contrast the boy’s assessment of his physique with reality, showing his self-assessment is unrealistic. Finally, the counseling team helps the boy explore the psychotherapeutic forces behind his BDD, such as food control by his parents, genetic factors, and, of course, social pressures.
A growing problem
Researchers believe the phenomenon of muscled but unhealthy males is growing, affecting an estimated one 1 of 10 of the puffed-up men who spend hours pumping iron. To reverse it, Holland says, will take a widespread recognition of its dangers. “Education and awareness, starting at a young age, is the most important thing,” she says. “We have to be educating teachers and parents about what symptoms to look for. We have to teach students how to think about their bodies.”
Learn more:
Resources:
“Big Boys Don’t Starve: The Changing Face of Eating Disorder,” Therapy Times, May 5, 2008.
Academy For Eating Disorders
International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals
National Eating Disorders Association
Relevant Capella courses:
Adolescent Psychology
Child and Adolescent Counseling
Mental Health Counseling
Principals of Psychopathology: Diagnosis and Treatment
Theories of Personality
Theories of Psychotherapy
This entry was posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 7:47 am and is filed under Alumni, Learners, Mental Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
