Exploring risk factors of drive for muscularity and muscle dysmorphia in male adolescents from a resource-limited setting in Burkina Faso

Bibliographic Details
Title: Exploring risk factors of drive for muscularity and muscle dysmorphia in male adolescents from a resource-limited setting in Burkina Faso
Authors: Valentin Terhoeven, Christoph Nikendei, Mamadou Bountogo, Hans-Christoph Friederich, Lucienne Ouermi, Ali Sié, Guy Harling, Till Bärnighausen
Source: Scientific Reports, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2023)
Publisher Information: Nature Portfolio, 2023.
Publication Year: 2023
Collection: LCC:Medicine
LCC:Science
Subject Terms: Medicine, Science
More Details: Abstract In low-income countries, Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) has only been investigated in adult south African amateur-bodybuilders. To date, there is no epidemic study about MD or its cardinal symptom “drive for muscularity” (DFM) and its impact on young men’s lives in African low-income settings. We analyzed a population-representative cross-sectional study of 838 adolescent males aged 12–20 in the rural northwestern Burkina Faso. Participants were assessed for MD with the research criteria of Pope and its cardinal symptom DFM based on the DFM scale (DMS). Since DFM has not been studied in a comparable sample so far, all possible influencing variables were examined exploratively in a linear regression model. Many respondents were underweight (41.5%) and few overweight (1.3%). No-one met standard clinical MD criteria. While 60.1% of 837 wished to be more muscular, only 8.7% of 824 desired a lower body-fat percentage. Regression analysis revealed that higher DMS scores were associated with greater internalization of the muscular body ideal, going to school, living in a rural area, older age, and a history of having faced sexual harassment or assault, but not with media exposure. Our results show that levels of DMS in Burkinabe adolescents were elevated. Risk factors for DFM in environmental circumstances where undernutrition and poverty are common are discussed.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2045-2322
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46863-w
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/4759faaedb0e4e0d841d58390d9625b2
Accession Number: edsdoj.4759faaedb0e4e0d841d58390d9625b2
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
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More Details
ISSN:20452322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-46863-w
Published in:Scientific Reports
Language:English