Factors associated with muscle dysmorphia among athletes in Universiti Putra Malaysia

Mat Isa, Nur Athirah (2019) Factors associated with muscle dysmorphia among athletes in Universiti Putra Malaysia. [Project Paper] (Submitted)

Text lp FPSK3 2019 28.pdf Download (13MB)

Abstract

Muscle dysmorphia is characterized by a misconstrued body image, in which individuals who interpret their body size as either small or weak even though they may look normal or highly muscular. Athletes are particularly vulnerable to develop muscle dysmorphia because of the pressures surrounding sport performance and societal trends of promoting muscularity and leanness. Individuals with muscle dysmorphia are disturbed by their preoccupation with their perceived flaws, which negatively impacts their quality of life. This cross sectional study aimed to determine the associations between personal factors, behavioral factors and psychosocial factors with muscle dysmorphia among athletes. A total of 132 athletes (69.7% males and 30.3% females) with a mean age of 22.58 ± 1.91 years old were recruited from Sports Academy, Universiti Putra Malaysia. A self administered questionnaire consisted of socio-demographic background, muscle dysmorphia, exercise dependence, supplement intake, drive for muscularity, self-esteem, media influence, peer and family pressure were completed by the respondents. Waist circumference and body fat percentage of the respondents were measured by the researcher. Results showed that 18.5% of males and 35.0% of females were at risk of abdominal obesity, whereas 87.0% of males and 84.1 % of females had high level of body fat percentage. The mean total score of muscle dysmorphia was 34.56 ± 8.03. More male athletes (M 35.77, SD=7.82) engaged in muscle dysmorphia compared to female athletes (M 31.78, SD=7.92; t=2.689,p=0.008). A significant difference in muscle dysmorphia between types of sport played (F 2.646, p=0.026) was observed, in which those athletes in the rugby group (M 37.09, SD=7.45) scored higher in muscle dysmorphia than athletes in the badminton group (M 29.27, SD=8.14). Body fat percentage (r=-0.243, p=0.005), exercise dependence (r=0.443, p<0.001), self-esteem (r=-0.201, p=0.021), media influence (r=0.307, p<0.001), peer (r=0.276, p=0.001) and family (r=0.225, p=0.009) pressure were significantly correlated with-muscle dysmorphia. In conclusion, muscle dysmorphia is a problem among athletes. Health professionals especially sport nutritionists should educate athletes on positive body image to prevent muscle dysmorphia among athletes.

Item Type:	Project Paper
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine
Faculty:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
Depositing User:	Ms Norafizah Radzuan
Date Deposited:	25 Feb 2026 00:40
Last Modified:	25 Feb 2026 00:40
URI:	http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/2728

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