If the number of young boys wishing to gain muscle has been increasing steadily for several years, this new ideal could lead to doping or generate deviant behavior.
During a press conference organized by the National Academy of Medicine, sports doctor Xavier Bigard delivered his analysis concerning the growing valuation of “strong men” on social networks.
body image
According to a new study, 15 to 20% of boys between the ages of 11 and 16 today consider themselves too thin, with half of them wishing they had more muscle. “Over the years, we find that adolescent boys are like girls less and less satisfied with their body image,” reports Xavier Bigard on this subject. “At the origin of this development are largely social networks, 70% of respondents believing they are influenced by the images conveyed on these media”, continues the doctor.
“In order to obtain a body to their liking, some young people decide to correct their nutritional errors and take up sport, which can only be encouraged from a health point of view”, says the health professional. “But it can also push teenagers to consume food supplements and to excessively frequent weight rooms, two strongly questionable trends”, adds the specialist.
“Food supplements can indeed be catastrophic for the health of young people who take them regularly”emphasizes Xavier Bigard, recalling on this occasion that the content of these products mentioned on the labels does not generally correspond to reality.
body worship
“Concerning the weight rooms, I also invite young people to avoid them. In my opinion, a sports practice must be fun, take place outside and promote social ties, or quite the opposite that allows this kind of spaces, moreover much too centered for my taste on the cult of the body, thus encouraging deviant behavior”adds the sports doctor.
“To gain mass, the right direction would be, in my opinion, to do muscle strengthening exercises regularly from home (especially the upper body, which we generally do very little on a daily basis, editor’s note), as well as to consume natural proteins, he judges.
Doping substances
Today, 45% of young men who wish to strengthen their figure will do so through food and 80% through the practice of a new sport. To achieve this goal, 18 to 34% also regularly consume protein powders and 6 to 10% use caffeine or creatine.
Still according to the same study cited above, the researchers found after testing them that 26% of food supplements purchased commercially in the Netherlands were contaminated with doping substances.
