Drives for muscle and actual muscle mass in male populations from teenage boys to adults - Essay Example

A current literature review about drives for muscle and actual muscle mass in male populations from teenage boys to adults The muscle man has never been as popular in recent times among general public as it is now. The way the ideal masculine has been narrowed down to perfect muscles with deep cuts is indeed incredible and had its pros and cons. According to Don McCreary's muscularity scale there is a considerable rush for protein shakes, regular work out sessions at any cost. There is an obvious benefit if it makes an individual exercise while he otherwise leads a sedentary lifestyle.

But there is more to it than that meets the eye. Fitness - a term vaguely associated with muscle training has various dimensions to it, which aren't always adhered to by people craving for extra muscles. Every body is different and has different fat-muscle ratio. Recent medical studies have stressed a great deal on losing weight without equally stressing on other factors like cardio exercises. In the end fitness is something that can't be merely judged by looking at person's physique. But the popular culture today does not understand this.

We found that the male toy figures have grown much more muscular over time, with many contemporary figures far exceeding the muscularity of even the largest human bodybuilders. There has been growing interest in the assessment of a muscular appearance. For both genders, data indicated low convergence among muscularity measures, but high convergence among body fat measures.( Personal author, compiler, or editor name(s); click on any author to run a new search on that name.Cafri, Thompson 2002) It's almost considered a pre requisite for guys to be muscular in order to catch the attention of the opposite sex.

This is because of contemporary models and actors all of them building muscular bodies. There are various complications that follow a diet too rich in proteins in terms of putting undue burden on the body system due to surge in toxic products produced by breakdown of proteins. Also carbohydrates are wrongly looked down upon. The fact that carbohydrates are directly used for energy is a much better option as compared to proteins breaking down for producing energy. That is a wasteful method putting a lot of strain on the liver and increasing body toxicity and according to some studies it lowers life span.

In the end the result is an unhealthy body, which leaves a person prone to various complications like hepatic encephalopathy, renal failure in pursuit of an ideal body image. A comparison of the recent movies as compared with the old ones shows a stark contrast in male actor's physique making it almost humorous at times which is all a result of change in people's perception of a macho body image, which people look up to. People these days are ready to put their health to stake for something, which they ironically started in the name of fitness - muscle building.

Apart from protein shakes there is a huge market for anabolic steroids which young men continue to consume being aware or unaware of their side effects. Oftenthey use anabolic steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs, continuing to take theseagents even in the face of serious side effects because of persistent anxiety about theirmuscularity. (Pope et al., 1993; Pope & Katz, 1994). "There hasn't been a lot of research about eating disorders among male athletes, but I think it may be a growing problem," Carter said.

"I don't have male athletes approaching me to say they have an eating disorder, but I do see athletes who say they are concerned about their body and want to be bigger and more muscular. If male athletes feel they are not lean and muscular enough - and combine that with unhealthy behaviors, such as use of performance-enhancing drugs - it could result in a body image disorder known as muscle dysmorphia. This, also negatively affects even athletes who comprise the fittest group of people. On both visual inspection and anthropomorphic measurement, it appears that action figures to-day are consistently much more muscular than their predecessors.

Many modern figuresdisplay the physiques of advanced bodybuilders and some display levels of muscularityfar exceeding the outer limits of actual human attainment. All these facts clearly show an unhealthy obsession with muscles. For some people muscle building takes a role more important than other daily routine like work. There is a belief among men that girls like it bigger and bulkier and some people can't get over their obsession for muscles.What present culture has done is that there is rush of so called fitness gurus with inadequate medical knowledge regarding muscles.

They tend to know all the ways to pack on the muscle but tend to ignore other important factors like cardio training, which should always accompany weight training.The issue of body image affects also the people who are not actively involved in building muscles as they intrinsically slump their body image and lower their self-esteem.On the flip side there are many benefits accompanying the rush for muscle building if its taken in the right spirit. It actually makes people think about getting up from their couches and make a move.

References:Cafri, Guy; Thompson, Kevin. Convergence of muscle appearance attitude measures. Oxford university press, 2000.Carter, Jennifer. Male atheletes also suffer from body image problems. Toronto university press, 2003. McCreary, Don.Evolving Ideals of male body image as Seen through Action Toys. Harvard press, 1998.Pope, Harrison. developing muscular male body image through action toys over the last 30 years. Harvard University press, 2002.