In his off-campus apartment kitchen, UNC Chapel Hill sophomore, Tate Mannell adds butter to a pan. He lets it melt and sizzle before adding in country-style beef ribs. For this former lacrosse player, the primary focus of every meal is protein. He pairs the beef with a cup of rice and some Japanese barbecue sauce, one of his go-to dinners to make. Mannell started cooking for himself when he was 14, the same age he started obsessing over his body size.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unlike with anorexia, Mannell wanted to get bigger rather than smaller. As with many teenage boys, that goal came from sports. Getting hit by players older and bigger on the field, as well as jokes from teammates, fueled his negative body image. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s your friends, so it\u2019s kind of funny. But it still subconsciously ate at me,\u201d Mannell said. \u201cLike I\u2019d be in the gym or eating not wanting to finish a meal and I\u2019ll just think of, like, \u2018Oh they called you twig, they called you skinny, they called you small. Oh, I\u2019m gonna show them.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to concerns about eating disorders and body image, boys and men are often overlooked. However, some struggle with an obsession over gaining muscle and bulking up. Research shows that nearly a third of teen boys in the U.S. report trying to gain weight and about a quarter report taking supplements or steroids, or eating more food.<\/p>\n
Mannell started eating as much as possible and taking creatine workout supplements. The now 20-year-old recalls gaining 40 pounds in just two months, but it wasn\u2019t sustainable. Mannell said he ate until he felt like throwing up every meal, and after that feeling went away, he would do it all over again. At his peak during junior year of high school he was working out two to four hours every single day, often weightlifting in addition to lacrosse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Muscle dysmorphia<\/a>, also known as bigorexia or reverse anorexia, is a form of body dysmorphic disorder, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. Individuals continually feel like they aren\u2019t muscular enough, regardless of how they look.\u00a0<\/p>\n While he\u2019s never been diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder, Mannell said he felt like 150 pounds even though he weighed 210.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt never affected my life, though. I never was depressed because of my body image. It was just like \u2018dang, I need to lock in, or I need to do this,\u2019\u201d Mannell said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to say no because I definitely was like \u2018oh I\u2019m small, I hate myself\u2019 in high school.\u201d<\/p>\n Although those with eating disorders are largely stereotyped as women, a 2019 U.S. study<\/a> shows that about a third are men. But that bias makes them less likely to seek treatment and be diagnosed. Chantal Gil, the clinical director of the Duke Center for Eating Disorders, said individuals don\u2019t need to be diagnosed before seeking out help and treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to place you in a box and we don\u2019t want to create a barrier by saying you need this label to get it because I think some people think they\u2019re not sick enough,\u201d Gil said. \u201cIf it\u2019s distressing, we want to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n She also said those with an eating disorder or body dysmorphic disorder can seem healthy, despite havoc in their minds and bodies.\u00a0<\/p>\n Zach Harding, a bodybuilder and personal trainer at Gold\u2019s Gym Chapel Hill, developed the eating disorder anorexia when he was 18 years old. His weight got as low as 100 pounds before he discovered weightlifting. He started eating more and returned to a normal weight but said it was still all with the aim of improving his appearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was in quote, unquote good health,\u201d Harding said. \u201cBut mentally, I was still in that same spot of it was all about how I looked.\u201d<\/p>\n Although exercise is a common compulsive behavior in those with bigorexia, Gil still encourages it for her patients because she said it\u2019s all about intention.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re going to the gym because it makes you feel good and body movement makes you feel good and you really enjoy yoga, you enjoy running, you enjoy weightlifting: amazing. We want that for you,\u201d she said. \u201cNow, it gets blurry when people start to think, \u2018I want to change my body and I want to do it in a certain way.\u2019 And then it can become really unhealthy when it becomes obsessive.\u201d<\/p>\n When he works with clients, Harding makes sure to focus on how their body feels and performs rather than how it looks \u2014 a lesson he had to learn himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bodybuilding trophies sprawl across Harding\u2019s desk. Although he hasn\u2019t stopped weightlifting and he still has had some bad days over the past two years, he says he\u2019s been at his best mentally.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe gym is great, but not everything relies on this. How are your relationships with yourself, with other people around you, with your family, friends, any loved ones that you have that you care about?\u201d Harding said. \u201cCause very quickly, fitness can be obsessive. And then your relationships start to fall apart too.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the signs someone is struggling with body dysmorphic disorder or an eating disorder is isolating themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n