927045
letter2020
ISP0010.1177/0020764020927045International Journal of Social PsychiatryAlencar et al.
Letter to the Editor
Vigorexy: A danger in the
search of the ideal body
Adrielle Silva Alencar1 , Lívia Barbosa Taveira do Nascimento1,
Carísia Feitosa Soares2, Mariany Gomes Xavier Beserra2
and Nathália Lobo Brito3
Dear Editor,
Since ancient Greece, figures of gods of beauty have con-
tributed to the creation of a pattern of beauty that has until
today, according to each cultures and historical periods,
influenced by overvaluation of appearance even generat-
ing health damages (Phillips, 2019). In the age of technol-
ogy, the media imposes the concept of ‘ideal body’ mainly
through social media. Researches have shown that 70% of
the American population has access to social media and, in
addition to benefits, there are negative results for well-
being through the use of this means of communication
(Bekalu et al., 2019). The use of social networks correlates
with concerns about body image by the tendency of users,
comparing their lives through posts on Instagram and
Facebook: Women tend to compare selfies, while men
compare muscle mass (Oakes, 2019).
The pressure to reach the unreachable affects all social
classes, genders and age groups, generating frustrations
that reflect in the higher index of: indiscriminate consump-
tion of medications, use of anabolic substances, aesthetic
surgeries, social, eating and mental disorders (Bragança &
Silva, 2016). Among the psychiatric disorders that may
consequently arise as a result of this, vigorexy or muscular
dysmorphism is a type of body dysmorphic disorder with
obsessions and compulsion limited to concern about phys-
ical appearance. Also characterized by distortion of body
image, vigorexy is the belief that the body is insufficiently
muscular and thin when, in fact, patients have the normal
body or even more muscular than average. It is associated
with physiological factors, family history of obsessive-
compulsive disorder (OCD) and family history of child
abuse (American Psychiatric Association, 2014).
Such condition mainly affects males and usually arises
in the adolescence with body self-perception, leading the
individual to adopt intense and repetitive physical exercise
along with extreme diets, plus the use of drugs and sub-
stances, such as anabolic steroids, to achieve ‘muscularity’
(Gorrell & Murray, 2019). In addition to body integrity
damage, such as myasthenia, excessive fatigue and sleep
disorders, muscle dysmorphism generates psychosocial
dysfunctions such as insecurity, isolation, low self-esteem
E CAMDEN SCHIZOPH
International Journal of
Social Psychiatry
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and even damage in various areas of individual life with
significant clinical distress. The adoption of behavioral
addicts also often associated with anxiety and aggressive-
ness, while pathological concern relates to the onset of
depression culminating, in the worst cases, of suicide
(Pace et al., 2020).
Thus, instead of the expected benefits from the practice
of physical activity and healthy diet, exaggerated vigorexy
behavior outweighs positive results, causing damage to
physical and mental health. Moreover, in these cases, the
insight is impaired and the patient does not recognize his
pathological condition, as well as the need to seek help
(Preto, 2019).
Therefore, due to the multifactorial etiology of vigor-
exy, scope and strong influence of social media on mood,
anxiety, self-esteem and well-being of users, many indi-
viduals may be susceptible to the development of any body
dysmorphic disorder, as well as muscle dysmorphism and
its growing of cases (Brown, 2018). Professionals should
pay attention to these possibilities and especially to those
with pre-existing conditions and personalities that increase
the risk. The treatment should be multidisciplinary with
psychotherapy, redimensioning the practice of physical
exercises and dietary reeducation, aiming, mainly, the
well-being and acceptance of yourself, regardless of exter-
nal factors (Farah, 2019).
Conflict of interest
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this
article.
1
 cademics of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Estácio de Juazeiro do
A
Norte – FMJ, Juazeiro do Norte, Brazil
2
Academics of Medicine, University Center Unifacisa, Campina Grande,
Brazil
3
Professor at Faculty of Medicine, Estácio de Juazeiro do Norte – FMJ,
Juazeiro do Norte, Brazil
Corresponding author:
Adrielle Silva Alencar, Academics of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine,
Estácio de Juazeiro do Norte – FMJ, 63040-360 Juazeiro do Norte,
Ceará, Brazil.
Email: adrielleallencar@hotmail.com
2 International Journal of Social Psychiatry 00(0)
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research,
authorship and/or publication of this article.
ORCID iD
Adrielle Silva Alencar https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8044-5119
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