For The Union-Tribune
Muscle madness
Fueled by social media, more boys and men are turning to supplements like amino acids, creatine monohydrate, pre-workout drinks or powders, protein bars and whey protein product in an effort to bulk up and look like their cartoon superhero.
But that increase in muscle is associated with another kind of boost: body dysmorphia, a mental health condition in which one can’t stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in their appearance, even if the flaw is minor or invisible to others. The consequence is that people with body dysmorphic disorder may become so embarrassed, ashamed and anxious that they avoid social .
(Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) can affect almost anyone, though it is more common among females. It’s not known what causes BDD. Experts suspect it is a combination of factors, such as a genetic disposition, certain personality traits like perfectionism, negative life experiences and, of course, societal pressures and perceived expectations.)
In a new study, researchers surveyed 2,700 Canadians, male and female, ages 16 to 30. Almost 80 percent had used at least one muscle-building supplement in the last year and 18 percent scored at or above the clinical cutoff for muscle dysmorphia.
The gender breakdown was 12 percent of cisgender girls, 19 percent of trans and gender diverse people and more than 26 percent of cisgender boys. Cisgender is someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
Health experts are alarmed at the findings.
“If people knew the level of suffering that comes with these illnesses,” anthropologist Mair Underwood told STAT, “they wouldn’t be so quick to trivialize it and dismiss it as an issue of vanity.”
Among the potential consequences of untreated body dysmorphia: anxiety, extensive medical bills, severe depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Body of knowledge
The vermillion border is the distinct line where the reddish-pink part of the lips meets the surrounding skin. The lips are the external-facing outlands of the mouth’s oral tissues. They have no sebaceous glands, sweat glands or hair follicles. Their tissues are thinner, with blood vessels closer to the surface, which s for their rosier hue.
Mark your calendar
June is awareness month for Alzheimer’s, cataracts, myasthenia gravis (an autoimmune disease characterized by abnormal muscle weakness), asphasia (a communication disorder), migraines, scleroderma, PTSD, scoliosis and congenital cytomegalovirus (a common infectious cause of birth defects).
Stories for the waiting room
According to Kevin Dutton, a British psychologist and author, and assorted studies, the 10 careers with the highest proportion of psychopaths are CEO, lawyer, TV news personalities, salespeople, surgeons, journalists, police officers, clergy, chefs and civil servants. You can figure out what they all have in common.
Phobia of the week
Alliumphobia — fear of garlic
Sanguivoriphobia — fear of vampires
Observation
“Use your health, even to the point of wearing it out. That is what it is for. Spend all you have before you die; do not outlive yourself.”
— Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Ig Nobel apprised
The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate achievements that make people laugh, then think. A look at real science that’s hard to take seriously, and even harder to ignore.
In 2024, the Ig Nobel Prize in anatomy went to an international team of scientists for their discovery that scalp hair whorls are more likely to spiral in a counter-clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere compared with the Northern Hemisphere.
Med school
Match these drugs with the plants they were originally derived from.
1) Digitalis (for heart conditions)
2) Quinine (malaria)
3) Taxol (cancer)
4) Aspirin (pain relief)
a) Willow
b) Foxglove
c) Cinchona
d) Pacific yew
Answers: 1b; 2c; 3d; 4a
Curtain calls
Michael Anderson Godwin had been convicted of murder and sentenced to the electric chair in 1983. The death sentence was overturned on appeal and he was sentenced instead to life in prison. Six years later, while sitting on a metal toilet in his cell at the Central Correctional Institution in South Carolina, Godwin attempted to fix a pair of earphones connected to his TV. When he bit into a wire, he was electrocuted.
LaFee is vice president of communications for the Sanford Burnham Prebys research institute.
