The megarexia It is an eating disorder (ED). The most popular EDs are bulimia, anorexia nervosa and vigorexia or orthorexia (the obsession with healthy food), but there are also others, such as megarexia.
This last disorder, however, It is not covered in the DSM (statistical diagnostic manual of mental disorders). Dr. Jaime Brugos cited the term for the first time megarexia in one of his works collected in his book “Isoproteic Diet” in 1992.
An eating disorder is a serious, chronic and progressive illness that, although its most important characteristic has to do with altered eating behavior, there are other types of symptoms such as a distortion of body self-image a great fear of gaining or losing weight and the acquisition of certain beliefs and values about the aesthetics and image of one’s body.
Nowadays, in Western societies, it is common to come across people who are obsessed with their physical appearance, an obsession that can prevent the normal functioning of their daily lives, and puts their health at risk. In extreme cases it can even endanger your life.
Megarexia is an eating disorder that consists of The obese person who suffers from it does not see himself as overweight, that is, he perceives his body as thin. Therefore, they engage in a series of behavioral patterns designed to gain weight and, usually, gain muscle. Therefore, megarexia is associated with the tendency to exercise a lot and eat a lot to try to gain muscle mass.
Although megarexia is not technically part of the addictive disorders, part of its characteristics make it similar to an addiction: the person who has developed this psychological alteration feels the need to frequently carry out actions linked to gaining weight. , and if you spend more time than usual without, for example, having eaten meat, you have problems not falling into these types of actions compulsively.
Now, it should be noted that this predisposition to eat a lot is not due to a feeling of hunger, but rather to a disagreement with one’s own body image.
Since it is not a well-known disorder, there are difficulties in fighting this disease. Obesity is not only a matter of aesthetics, but it can cause serious health problems in people who suffer from it.
Symptoms
These are the main symptoms of megarexia:
Effects and consequences of megarexia
As we have mentioned, obesity and overweight are risk factors that significantly increase the possibility of suffering from diseases such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, gout, etc.
People who suffer from megarexia not only consider that they are not obese, but they do nothing to change their harmful lifestyle. For example, instead of eating nutritionally adequate foods, they eat foods that are harmful to their health. Not being aware of their disorder, they do not lead an active life or practice physical exercise, which increases the risk of suffering from other diseases related to a sedentary lifestyle.
Furthermore, the physical exercise Not only does it affect you physically, but it also provides benefits on a psychological level. To learn more about this, we invite you to read our article: “The 10 psychological benefits of exercising.”
A first step to combat this disorder has to do with acceptance of the person who suffers from this disease. But you must not only accept that he has an eating problem, you must be aware that he suffers from a serious psychological disorder. In this context, the person’s environment is critical in helping them overcome this psychopathology.
The close environment must persuade the patient to put themselves in the hands of an expert in the treatment of ED: Going to psychotherapy is essential. If this is not possible, you should contact your family doctor, as it may be the first option for a progressive improvement of the disorder.
