Body image disorders: anorexia nervosa versus reverse anorexia (muscle dysmorphia)

Abstract Background Among body image disorders, anorexia nervosa (AN) in females and muscle dysmorphia (MD) in males, emerge as the more representative. Objective To describe the relationship of clinical characteristics between AN and MD. Method A review of specialised textbooks and the available literature in Medline/PubMed and SciELO was made. Results There are similarities and differences between both disorders. They begin in adolescence, show a great diagnostic crossover, use/abuse of pharmacological drugs, similar co-morbidities, improvement with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and behavioural-cognitive psychotherapy, they are focused in body image, but AN pursuits thinness while MD muscle development. From a psychosocial perspective, body image disorders come out due to western socio-cultural pressures related to gender role stereotypes, which emphasise a slim feminine figure versus a vigorous masculine one. The nosological classification of MD is controversial and it has been including within the obsessive-compulsive spectrum of the DSM-5. Conclusions Both disorders imply body dissatisfaction with different degrees of body image distortion, even reaching delusional dimensions. Future studies are required which can lay the foundations of new categorisations of these disorders that better clarify their essence.