Associations between muscle dysmorphia-related body image concerns, physical activity, and body composition: a cross-sectional study among young Asian adults in Malaysia.

IF 4 4区医学 Q1 PHYSIOLOGY

Journal of Physiological Anthropology Pub Date : 2026-05-19 DOI:10.1186/s40101-026-00427-9

Yee-How Say, Shi-Hui Cheng, Nur Fadhilah Syuhada Nazaruddin, Jingruo Wang, Wen Yi Goh, Fei Ling Yap, Meng-Che Tsai

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Muscle dysmorphia (MD) is a body image disturbance characterized by an obsessive drive for muscularity, increasingly observed in non-Western populations. However, limited data exist on its associations with physical activity (PA) and body composition in Asian contexts. This study examined the relationships between MD-related body image concerns, PA levels, and anthropometric/body composition characteristics among young Asian adults in Malaysia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 513 university students in Malaysia (207 males, 306 females; median age 21 ± 2 years) was conducted. Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing MD-related concerns-Drive for Leanness Scale (DLS), Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS), MD Disorder Inventory (MDDI), Muscularity-Oriented Eating Test (MOET)-and weight control behaviors. PA was assessed using the IPAQ-SF, and body composition was measured via bioimpedance. Sex differences, correlations, and multiple regression analyses were performed.

Results: Males reported significantly higher DMS and MDDI scores, greater skeletal muscle, and higher PA levels (p < 0.001), while females had higher adiposity measures. PA showed positive associations with all MD-related body image concerns, including DMS (β = 0.149), MDDI (β = 0.188), and MOET (β = 0.107). Regression models also identified BMI, waist-to-height ratio, subcutaneous fat, financial adequacy, and life satisfaction as significant associated factors. Participants in higher PA categories reported more severe MD-related concerns.

Conclusion: Overall, the findings indicate that while PA and body composition are statistically associated with MD-related concerns, these relationships are relatively weak, suggesting that objective physical characteristics play a limited role. This underscores the importance of considering psychological and sociocultural factors when examining MD among young Asian adults.

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与肌肉畸形相关的身体形象问题、身体活动和身体组成之间的联系：马来西亚亚洲年轻人的横断面研究

背景：肌肉畸形（MD）是一种身体形象障碍，其特征是对肌肉的强迫性驱动，越来越多地在非西方人群中观察到。然而，在亚洲背景下，其与身体活动（PA）和身体成分的关联数据有限。本研究调查了马来西亚年轻亚洲成年人中与md相关的身体形象问题、PA水平和人体测量/身体组成特征之间的关系。方法：对513名马来西亚大学生（男性207人，女性306人，中位年龄21±2岁）进行横断面研究。参与者完成了一份有效的问卷，评估与肥胖相关的担忧——消瘦动力量表（DLS）、肌肉动力量表（DMS）、肥胖障碍量表（MDDI）、肌肉导向饮食测试（MOET）和体重控制行为。采用IPAQ-SF法测定PA，生物阻抗法测定体成分。进行性别差异、相关性和多元回归分析。结果：男性报告了更高的DMS和MDDI评分，更大的骨骼肌和更高的PA水平(p结论：总体而言，研究结果表明，虽然PA和身体成分在统计上与md相关的担忧相关，但这些关系相对较弱，表明客观的身体特征起有限的作用。这强调了在检查年轻亚洲成年人的MD时考虑心理和社会文化因素的重要性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Physiological Anthropology PHYSIOLOGY-

自引率

6.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： Journal of Physiological Anthropology (JPA) is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes research on the physiological functions of modern mankind, with an emphasis on the physical and bio-cultural effects on human adaptability to the current environment. The objective of JPA is to evaluate physiological adaptations to modern living environments, and to publish research from different scientific fields concerned with environmental impact on human life. Topic areas include, but are not limited to: environmental physiology bio-cultural environment living environment epigenetic adaptation development and growth age and sex differences nutrition and morphology physical fitness and health Journal of Physiological Anthropology is the official journal of the Japan Society of Physiological Anthropology.