- It is okay to be skinny.
I know that might sound like a weird thing to hear.
Maybe it sounds unnecessary for you to hear,
because when we think of weight issues,
we often think of people trying to lose weight.
But actually, for a surprising share of young men,
that is a revolutionary statement.
I mean, we're constantly inundated
with an ideal masculine physique that's fucking shredded,
big biceps, broad chest, six pack abs.
I mean, hell, I'm guilty of having this mindset.
While we're all familiar with the body image problems
typically suffered by women,
leading them to feel like they're too fat
or don't have a big enough butt or boobs,
male body dysmorphia
is largely unrecognized and understudied,
but now, more than ever,
doctors are raising the alarm about it.
With people like Gabriela Vargas,
a pediatrician at Boston Children's Hospital,
telling parents they need to be looking out
for certain red flags.
Things like boys becoming hyper fixated
on what they're eating, having highly regimented meals,
cutting out food groups,
or dramatically increasing their protein intake.
While the data's hard to come by,
one study using a 2015 survey,
found that nearly a third of teenage boys
reported trying to gain weight,
with this affecting certain groups more than others.
But some of the numbers that stood out the most to me
is that only around 3% of those involved
were actually underweight, in terms of BMI.
But almost 20% perceived themselves to be.
And the thing is, as we grow into men,
this isn't a thing that we grow out of.
With a 2014 poll finding that men
worry more about their appearance than their health,
family, relationships or professional success.
Today's men are actually more concerned about their chest
than women are about their boobs.
And while obviously a focus on your health can be a very,
very positive thing in your life,
this fixation on muscle can be destructive,
both physically and mentally,
leading men to obsessively scrutinize over their bodies
and inspect themselves in the mirror,
or on the flip side,
just hide their bodies under baggy clothes.
That's in addition to the health risks that come
from working out too much
or inhaling dietary supplements.
Excessive exercise and a skewed nutrient intake
can be as dangerous as the drastic weight loss
from eating disorders like anorexia.
And ironically, if it gets to the point
where the body's in starvation mode,
hormone production can slow down, including testosterone,
the one that is critical for building muscle.
And that's especially true for younger boys
who haven't developed the right
hormonal environment for strength training yet,
with one Harvard professor explaining
there isn't a lot of potential to gain muscle mass
for the average 10 to 14 year old boy who lifts weights
and drinks protein shakes.
Yet a key thing to take away here,
that's precisely the age
when they're feeling intense social pressure from peers,
and in today's age, starting to access social media.
Whether it's TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, whatever,
research shows that more screen time
correlates with more muscle dysmorphia.
And other data linking Instagram use with teen boys
to disordered eating behavior, muscle dissatisfaction,
and even use of steroids.
But also, understand, male beauty standards
have been hammered into kids
long before they got their first iPad, right?
It's in everything we consume.
I mean, there was a 2006 study showing
that fucking action figures became more muscular
over the prior 25 years,
with more recent research showing that boys
prefer those hyper masculinized toys
over the older, skinnier ones.
And then, I mean, just think about the American culture
that we grew up with.
My heroes growing up, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Sylvester Stallone, are the most fucking yoked out
people in the world.
And that hasn't changed.
I mean, you have the Chris' right?
Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Chris Pratt.
I mean that dude went from,
I'll have a large number six to seal team six.
And I mean, you can even see it in the different actors
playing some of the same revised roles.
Look at James Bond over the years,
Sean Connery to Daniel Craig.
And with America being such a giving country,
we also export this toxicity.
Studies showing that even in populations
exposed to Western media relatively recently,
TV consumption is linked to more muscular body ideals
for men and slimmer ones for women.
And that's along with dieting behaviors
and disordered eating among women.
But also, you can't put a hundred percent of the blame
on media, because the supplements industry
is the prime beneficiary here.
They've been aggressively marketing protein shakes, bars,
pills, and powders towards men for decades.
And it's worked,
'cause now the global protein supplements market
is valued at over $20 billion,
with North America grabbing the largest share.
And reportedly more than half of males,
from adolescents to early adulthood,
take protein powder or shakes.
And this, as Americans already consume
nearly twice the recommended daily intake of protein.
That matters as excessive protein consumption
can strain kidney and liver function,
as well as increase the risk of heart disease and cancer.
Not to mention the specific risk with protein supplements,
which go largely unregulated by the FDA.
And whatever's on the label can say fuck all
about what's actually in the bottle.
Plus, many powders are packed with added sugars
and researchers have also found unsafe amounts
of heavy metals like lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury.
Yeah, all of that is to say that everyone is the victim
of just the insanity that's going on right now,
both men and women.
While research suggests that women are still judged
far more for their appearance than men,
the fact that it's not happening with the same numbers
or the same rate, doesn't change the fact
that it is affecting both.
And stuff like this needs to be talked about,
so that it's understood and normalized,
rather than kind of mocked
or sometimes even worse, just dismissed.
With all that, I want to leave you with two things.
One, what are your thoughts regarding this news?
And also your personal experiences would be
so amazing to know, in those comments down below.
And two, make sure you're subscribed
and come back to the channel later today
for your brand new full Philip DeFranco Show.