There hasn’t been a lot of talk about how much fitness is really needed and problems plaguing the fitness industry. For one, everyone simply assumes that a healthy, ideal human being should look like those Instagram models that you see with either a nice eight packs or an hour glass figure. But the truth of the matter is, there exist a portion of people that are so consumed by fitness that it develops into a body image disorder. The thing about body image disorder is that people can’t really tell, but it is a mental disorder that can pass off as being “concerned about fitness”. We will take a look at just how much fitness is really needed and how to find out if you are a tad bit too concerned about your body.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the recommended fitness needed for healthy adults comes in two parts: Aerobic activities of at least 150 minutes a week (or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity) or a combination of that. Meanwhile, strength training is recommended for at least twice a week and aimed from 12 to 15 repetitions. This means activities such as brisk walking, swimming, running, weight lifting, rock climbing and so on is advised to be spread out along the week and done in your own time. A general guideline is to spend at least 30 minutes each day doing one of these physical activities just to stay healthy. If you have other goals in mind such as losing weight, building muscles or improving your stamina, then your training regimen would vary accordingly.
If you’ve been getting that amount of exercise in your daily life, then you should be all set for a healthy lifestyle. However, some of us may get caught in the whole having a “perfect body” dilemma. What you need to know is that obsession over the way your body looks is not healthy.
Anorexia & Bigorexia
Anorexia and bigorexia are polar opposites of each other and are subtypes of body dysmorphic disorder. While anorexia is classified by a fear of gaining weight, a strong desire to be thin and food restriction, bigorexia involves obsessive preoccupation that one’s body is too small and thus training to look huge and muscular. The problem with these two-body image disorder is that most patients in their original build are already considered normal and the resulting body dysmorphic disorder takes their physique to increasingly unhealthy levels. If you find yourself fretting unnecessarily over your body image and beginning to develop unhealthy habits such as eating excessive amounts or starving yourself to become leaner, it is advised that you consult your doctor.