"Read with caution": a reply to Pickett et al.

In recent years, psychological issues in body-building have received much research attention. 1–4 Given both the popularity of training with weights and the many interesting psychological issues surrounding this phenomenon , research on such issues is clearly warranted. We were pleased therefore to see a recent study by Pickett et al 5 in this journal purporting to examine muscle dysmorphia and social physique anxiety in bodybuilders and weight trainers. Muscle dysmorphia is a multidimensional condition where individuals exhibit a distorted body image, believing themselves to be thin and puny when in fact they are large and muscular. 6 The study of Pickett et al compared three groups of men: competitive bodybuilders (n = 40), men who train regularly with weights (n = 40), and men who do not train with weights (n = 40). Several physiological measures (including weight, height, and body fat percentage) were taken, and participants completed several questionnaires, including the social physique anxiety scale (SPAS 7) and the eating attitudes test (EAT-26 8). The authors concluded from their results that competitive bodybuilders are not more ''mus-cle dysmorphic'' than either non-competitive weight trainers or physically active men who do not train with weights. Although we applaud the attempt of Pickett et al to examine this important topic, we suggest caution with regard to some of their findings and conclusions because of concerns about the sample and measures used. These concerns are explained in the following paragraphs. Participants One of our main concerns about the study of Pickett et al is the choice of participants and the vague description of their characteristics. The study examined competitive bodybuilders , men who regularly trained with weights, and physically active men who exercised but did not train with weights. However, it is unclear whether the ''weight trainers'' in this study would have classified themselves as bodybuilders. This issue is important as most people who class themselves as bodybuilders do not compete, 9 and previous research has shown that they differ on a range of psychological characteristics from those who weight train for general fitness rather than bodybuilding purposes. 2 4 10 In particular, are the weight trainers in the second group non-competitive bodybuilders, power lifters, or just motivated fitness lifters? Previous research 1 2 suggests that bodybuilders, powerlifters, and fitness lifters may have very different motives for lifting and may exhibit substantially different psychological behaviours. From their present design, it would be …