ArcaMax

Fueled by social media, more boys and men are turning to supplements like amino acids, creatine monohydrate, pre-workout drinks or powders, protein bars and whey protein product in an effort to bulk up and look like their favorite superhero.

But that increase in muscle is associated with another kind of boost: body dysmorphia, a mental health condition in which one can't stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in their appearance, even if the flaw is minor or invisible to others. The consequence is that people with body dysmorphic disorder may become so embarrassed, ashamed and anxious that they avoid social contact.

(Body dysmorphic disorder can affect almost anyone, though it is more common among females. It's not known what causes BDD. Experts suspect it is a combination of factors, such as genetic disposition, certain personality traits like perfectionism, negative life experiences and, of course, societal pressures and perceived expectations.)

In a new study, researchers surveyed 2,700 Canadians, male and female, ages 16 to 30. Almost 80% had used at least one muscle-building supplement in the last year, and 18% scored at or above the clinical cutoff for muscle dysmorphia.

The gender breakdown was 12% of cisgender girls, 19% of trans and gender-diverse people, and more than 26% of cisgender boys. (A cisgender person is someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.)

Health experts are alarmed at the findings.

"If people knew the level of suffering that comes with these illnesses," anthropologist Mair Underwood told STAT, "they wouldn't be so quick to trivialize it and dismiss it as an issue of vanity."

Among the potential consequences of untreated body dysmorphia are anxiety, extensive medical bills, severe depression, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Body of Knowledge

The vermillion border is the distinct line where the reddish-pink part of the lips meets the surrounding skin. The lips are the external-facing outlands of the mouth's oral tissues. They have no sebaceous glands, sweat glands or hair follicles. Their tissues are thinner, with blood vessels closer to the surface, which accounts for their rosier hue.

Mark Your Calendar

June is awareness month for Alzheimer's, cataracts, myasthenia gravis (an autoimmune disease characterized by abnormal muscle weakness), aphasia (a communication disorder), migraines, scleroderma, post-traumatic stress disorder, scoliosis and congenital cytomegalovirus (a common infectious cause of birth defects). Did we mention Alzheimer's?

Counts

746,000: Estimated number of people who died by suicide in 2021, a decline from almost 15 deaths per 100,000 in 1990 to nine per 100,000 in 2021, according to the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study

Stories for the Waiting Room

According to Kevin Dutton, a British psychologist and author, and assorted studies, the 10 careers with the highest proportion of psychopaths are CEO, lawyer, TV news personalities, salespeople, surgeons, journalists, police officers, clergy, chefs and civil servants. You can figure out what they all have in common.

Doc Talk

Borborygmi: Rumbling or growling sounds in the stomach

Phobia of the Week

Alliumphobia: Fear of garlic

Sanguivoriphobia: Fear of vampires

Best Medicine

Psychiatrist: "How long have you had short-term memory loss?"

Patient: "As long as I can remember."

Observation

"Use your health, even to the point of wearing it out. That is what it is for. Spend all you have before you die; do not outlive yourself." -- Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

Medical History

This week in 1906, pathologist Howard T. Ricketts discovered Rocky Mountain spotted fever is caused by an unusual microbe spread by ticks. Its symptoms are similar to typhus except the rash starts at extremities and moves toward the trunk. The disease causes high morbidity, with roughly 70% of cases requiring hospitalization. Without treatment, the mortality rate is 7%.

Ig Nobel Apprised

The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate achievements that make people laugh, then think. A look at real science that's hard to take seriously and even harder to ignore.

In 2024, the Ig Nobel Prize in anatomy went to an international team of scientists for their discovery that scalp hair whorls are more likely to spiral in a counterclockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere compared to the Northern Hemisphere.

Med School

Match these drugs with the plants they were originally derived from.

1) Digitalis (for heart conditions)

2) Quinine (malaria)

3) Taxol (cancer)

4) Aspirin (pain relief)

A) Willow

B) Foxglove

C) Cinchona

D) Pacific yew

Answers: 1-B; 2-C; 3-D; 4-A

Curtain Calls

Michael Anderson Godwin had been convicted of murder and sentenced to the electric chair in 1983. The death sentence was overturned on appeal, and he was sentenced instead to life in prison. Six years later, while sitting on a metal toilet in his cell at the Central Correctional Institution in South Carolina, Godwin attempted to fix a pair of earphones connected to his TV. When he bit into a wire, he died by electrocution.

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To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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