Does Bulking and Cutting Diet Increase Symptoms of Eating Disorders?

Listen to this News

Highlights:

• Bulking and cutting is now a trending diet practice prevalent among adolescents and young adults
• Bulking (consuming surplus calories) and cutting (restricting calorie consumption) are mainly followed to optimize the growth of lean muscle mass and reduce body fat
• Following bulk and cut dietary cycles may lead to symptoms of eating disorders and muscle dysmorphia

Bulking and cutting, a common dietary practice followed by many fitness freaks to build muscle and lose fat, may contribute to symptoms of eating disorders and muscle dysmorphia, suggests a new study.

A new study, published in the journal Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, has found that nearly half of men, and one in five women, transgender and gender non-conforming participants, engaged in a �bulk and cut' cycle in the past 12 months.

What is Bulking and Cutting?

�Bulking and cutting' - a dietary technique characterized by alternating between periods of consuming surplus calories (bulking) and restricting calorie consumption (cutting) in order to optimize the growth of lean muscle mass and reduce body fat - is a practice that aligns with current body ideals. It is especially prevalent among adolescents and young adults, particularly those within the fitness community and those who are striving to achieve a more muscular and toned body.

‘Is bulking and cutting effective? Bulking and cutting, a trending dietary method, may lead to symptoms of eating disorders and muscle dysmorphia.’

Analyzing data from over 2,700 Canadian adolescents and young adults, the researchers found that engagement in bulking and cutting was connected with a greater desire to become more muscular, among all groups of participants, underscoring the link between this dietary method and desires to change one's body.

"Bulking and cutting is a common practice within the fitness community, and is popularized by social media," says lead author Kyle T. Ganson, Ph.D., MSW, assistant professor at the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

"Given body ideals that focus on bulk muscularity and leanness in boys and men, it is not surprising that this dietary method was highly common in our sample, but it should also be noted that girls, women, transgender, and gender non-confirming participants, also face unique pressures to adhere to specific body types. For girls and women, this ideal is transitioning away from the thin ideal to a toned and fit ideal."

Is Bulking and Cutting Dietary Method Unhealthy?

Few studies, however, have explored and characterized engagement in bulk and cut cycles, or whether this dietary method is linked with the drive for muscularity and eating disorder and muscle dysmorphia psychopathology.

"Our findings also showed that engagement in bulking and cutting was associated with symptoms of eating disorders, as well as muscle dysmorphia, which is characterized as the pathological pursuit of muscularity, for men and women in the study," says Ganson. "These findings are particularly salient given the documented increased prevalence of eating disorders and related behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic."

The study illuminates the importance of greater awareness of this unique dietary method, which may go unnoticed by healthcare and public health professionals.

"It is important that healthcare professionals screen for a vast array of dietary practices that may be harmful for young people, not just clinical eating disorder behaviors, like food restriction," Ganson says.

"We need to continue to research these forms of muscularity-oriented behaviors to better understand them and implement effective strategies to protect the health and well-being of Canadian young people."

Reference:

1.'Bulking and cutting' among a national sample of Canadian adolescents and young adults - (http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40519-022-01470-y)

Source: Eurekalert

Cite this Article ⇣⇡

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

• APA

  Adeline Dorcas. (2022, September 14). Does Bulking and Cutting Diet Increase Symptoms of Eating Disorders?. Medindia. Retrieved on Nov 29, 2024 from https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/does-bulking-and-cutting-diet-increase-symptoms-of-eating-disorders-208600-1.htm.

• MLA

  Adeline Dorcas. "Does Bulking and Cutting Diet Increase Symptoms of Eating Disorders?". Medindia. Nov 29, 2024. <https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/does-bulking-and-cutting-diet-increase-symptoms-of-eating-disorders-208600-1.htm>.

• Chicago

  Adeline Dorcas. "Does Bulking and Cutting Diet Increase Symptoms of Eating Disorders?". Medindia. https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/does-bulking-and-cutting-diet-increase-symptoms-of-eating-disorders-208600-1.htm. (accessed Nov 29, 2024).

• Harvard

  Adeline Dorcas. 2022. Does Bulking and Cutting Diet Increase Symptoms of Eating Disorders?. Medindia, viewed Nov 29, 2024, https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/does-bulking-and-cutting-diet-increase-symptoms-of-eating-disorders-208600-1.htm.