Faculty Publish Paper on Muscle Dysmorphia

SALISBURY, MD---Images of Rocky play in the minds of grunting, grimacing and sweating men trying to get just one more repetition out of their workout. Some take weightlifting to the extreme, hoping to look like well-muscled Sylvester Stallone characters, regardless of how developed they already are. There is a noticeable trend for male college athletes and wannabes to over-train for that barrel chest or six-pack abs. Athletes including bodybuilders can be susceptible to falling into unhealthy eating or exercising regimens, according to a recent Associated Press story. Problems of body image is a growing problem among this group said, Salisbury University health, physical education and human performance department chair, Dr. Susan Muller. Muscle dysmorphia and related eating disorders are a growing national trend. Health officials estimate one million men have eating disorders, caused by unrealistic images of the male body in the media. This is something men are much less likely to talk about than women. Recently published research in International Sports Journal by Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore faculty shed new light on the taboo issue. Titled “Muscle Dysmorphia Among Selected Male College Athletes: An Examination of the Lantz, Rhea and Mahew Model,” they observe the behavioral characteristics of compulsive weightlifting which include: excessive dietary supplement usage, diet restrictions and misperceptions about their body image, among other traits. Muller is also interpreting data on such dysfunctional behavior in females. Faculty who collaborated on the study are: Dr. Susan Muller, health, physical education and human performance department chair; Dr. Sidney R. Schneider, director of the applied health physiology graduate program; Dr. Robert L. Joyner, director of the respiratory therapy program, department of health sciences; and Dr. Dixie L. Dennis, research coordinator for the organizational and leadership doctoral programs at UMES. For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.