Open any health magazine and it becomes obvious that body image is a prevalent source of distress in America. But despite the enormous amount of attention given to body image problems, one expanding societal phenomenon is often ignored: the male quest for the "perfect body." As our society continues to normalize body weights that push the boundaries of being healthy, men are joining in on the race for physical perfection, and Tufts men are no exception.
Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Jeanne Goldberg noted that "there is less known about male eating disorders than female eating disorders, but they are on the rise."
Freshman Mark (names have been changed), who has suffered from an eating disorder, explained that male body image suffers from two extremes: "You can choose to be male-model skinny or body-builder buff. Laxatives or steroids: take your pick," he said.
Fitness Center Director Mike Pimentel agreed, saying he has noticed a change in how men work out. "It's very interesting to note the change in the trend. 15 to 20 years ago, the body trend of the time for men was to be as big as possible, regardless of body composition. It has obviously gone to the opposite end of the spectrum since then," he said.
Mark described how his own involvement in athletics pressured him to become thinner. "Cross-country running was a gateway for my eating problems. Eating to become a better runner and eating to get thinner went hand in hand. I felt like the only way I could better myself was to make myself even thinner than I already was," he said.
Sophomore James also agreed that many men now want to be slender instead of beefing up. "When I think of the perfect body, I think of leanness. I think most people, though, think of the perfect body as being buff, but huge muscles are really impractical for anything but body-building," he said.
Pimentel stressed that regardless of one's preference for a slim or buff physique, health is the most important issue. "I prefer athletes' bodies to be the natural consequence of their training for sport rather than training for image with the false hope that it will increase their performance," he said.
"Unfortunately, many people have come to believe that having a body which fulfills the 'perfect body' image is more athletic, which, in my opinion, is not necessarily true," Pimentel added.
Sports aren't the only sources of body image, either. Many guys say that, in addition to looking to athletics for a perfect body model, they are now finding pressure from the same source as women: the fashion industry.
"High fashion is really becoming pervasive in middle-class America," Mark said. "As fashion is penetrating the mainstream, the male body standards of the fashion industry are becoming more prominent. You see these hipsters who are so stylish, and they're all so skinny."
James, however, had a different view on the source of pressure to have a perfect body: "There's definitely pressure to look good, but it's not so much the way my body looks, but the way it works. I pay attention to the way I eat, because I want to stay in really good shape."
According to some, the college environment isn't too body-image-friendly, either. "Body image and the pressure to have a perfect body is a big thing [at college]. I didn't even realize it was such a phenomenon until I came to college," Mark said.
Explained Mark, "I'm always hearing conversations about calories and fattening foods ... There's a definite fear of becoming fat. You feel inferior if you don't make the effort to go to the gym."
Besides just the fear of weight gain and the presence of a gym on-campus, Mark added that being a member of the LGBT community further increases pressure: "Body image is also a huge issue within the gay community, and it's carrying over into the straight community and developing into a huge phenomenon ... At the college level, the pressure to be fit is enormous," he said.
While men and women share insecurities regarding body image, Senior Staff Psychologist at the Counseling Center Julie Jampel explained that they differ in their willingness to talk about the issue.
"We do see some men who come to counseling to discuss body image and related issues, although this is still more common in women, and women are more likely to seek counseling than men in general," she said. "While the numbers who seek treatment are still small, it is a serious issue for the men who suffer from it ... There is still a stigma around male body image problems, and this may prevent some men from getting help."
James agreed: "Guys don't talk about what they eat," he said. "I have a friend who definitely counts calories, but he doesn't talk about it."
"At the moment, male body image issues have not reached the prevalence that female body image issues have achieved," Jampel said. "Female body image issues have been in the public eye for a much longer time, and it is unclear whether male body image issues will catch up. However, that doesn't make them less serious or less painful."
