Combatting body dysmorphia begins with teenagers

As a society, we have arguably never been more informed about the causes of disorders that arise from negative body image.

But hand-in-hand with the growing awareness and understanding of these disorders has been the enormous increase in the number of images we are exposed to that present highly idealised versions of a desirable appearance.

More people are turning to drugs as a shortcut to building muscle.Credit: Getty Images

How this is impacting young people is clearly demonstrated in sobering statistics compiled by national eating disorder charity Butterfly Foundation.

Their Body Kind Youth Survey of 12- to 18-year-olds showed more than 90 per cent of young people reported some level of body image concern.

Of those, one in three were either very or extremely concerned about their body image.

A significant 62 per cent of the teenagers surveyed wished they were thinner and 64 per cent of both genders wished they were more muscular.

This desire to have a muscular physique goes some way to explaining the increase in anabolic steroid use, despite it being illegal in Australia.

As our report today notes, anabolic steroids have overtaken methamphetamines as the most recently used substance among new injectable drug users, and that performance and image-enhacing drug use is on the rise.

There are some instances when anabolic steroids are legally prescribed to treat hormonal problems, such as delayed puberty or disease-induced muscle loss.

But non-medical steroid use has been on a marked upward trajectory since 2000 and too often the steroids being used by those who wish to alter their physiques are being sourced on the black market.

This creates an element of real risk when it comes to the safety of drugs and the method of ingestion.

While men in their 30s are statistically the most common injectable users, it cannot be ignored that the environment that fosters the desire for a muscular physique begins in adolescence.

Monash University Body Image and Eating Disorders Research Associate Professor Gemma Sharp notes the prevalence of imagery of people with highly defined muscles is creating a false sense of comparison about normal muscle mass.

This can lead to body dysmorphia, an illness where the sufferer constantly worries over a perceived flaw in their appearance, and then to steroid abuse.

As our report today emphasises, the sourcing of materials outside the healthcare system is one issue that needs to be addressed, along with questioning why someone is using them.

This leads us back to the important work conducted by the Butterfly Foundation in understanding why body dysmorphia is on the rise and how to combat it.

It is imperative that we foster a culture of positive body image among young people, which will safeguard against the mindset that leads to eating disorders and body dysmorphia.

There are many ways to do this, as the Butterfly Foundation advises, beginning with ensuring our young people are educated to challenge society’s manufactured ideals of beauty.

We also need to limit exposure to highly stylised images of fitness and beauty. We know that social media feeds are a prime source of influential images so we should encourage young people to diversify their social media feeds.

As a community, we need to do better when it comes to modelling positive and realistic images of beauty and fitness.

These are all actions that we can take to try and stem the growing issue of body dysmorphia which is leading to misuse of anabolic steroids.

That growing, global trend of anabolic steroid use will be a key focus of this year’s Global Drug Survey, the world’s largest study on drug use.

We applaud this exploration of the concerning uptick in use, particularly by young people, and welcome resulting recommendations on how to tackle the issues.

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