＂Mass Production＂ in the Mass Consumption Societies The Case of Male Bodybuilding

Nowadays, the body seems to be the perfect object of consumption. People use it to define themselves but also as a vehicle that can send signs to others in the hope that their body will be a factor of social integration and social recognition. Hence we can observe the development of practices of body transformations which go along with the philosophy of the society in which everything seems possible for everybody, with no limit whatsoever. Indeed, if you want your body to be seen, you have to ＂produce＂ it before. The practice of bodybuilding sustains efforts in that direction： historically born and developed along with the consumption society, it came to embody its values. The analysis is based on qualitative methodology that is observations in three bodybuilding Gyms and 30 interviews with bodybuilders in France. The results show that bodybuilding reflects the consumption society＇s norms, that is a practice in which the body is in tension between imitation and distinction, hence showing the will to be ＂like others but in better＂ thanks to the production of a nice and ＂massive＂ body. Such a dimension could sometimes be dialectical, when the body becomes a source of alienation.

Protein supplementation intake for bodybuilding and resista nee training may impact sperm quality of subfertile men undergoing fertility treatment:a pilot study

Dear Editor,During the last decade,there has been an increase in the usage of dietary protein supplements for bodybuilding,especially among young men who work out in commercial gyms.1 Recently,it was shown that 23 of 24 dietary supplements available in fitness equipment and online shops contained anabolic steroids.2 However,these supposedly pro-androgenic supplements presumably differ from the more commonly used whey and soy protein supplements.3,4 Notwithstanding,both products are listed as dietary supplements rather than medical drugs;thus,they are not rigorously tested,5 do not necessarily list all contents,2 and consequently might contain known and unknown active components3,6.

Anabolic steroid-induced cardiomyopathy underlying acute liver failure in a young bodybuilder

Heart failure may lead to subclinical circulatory disturbances and remain an unrecognized cause of ischemic liver injury. We present the case of a previously healthy 40-year-old bodybuilder, referred to our Intensive-Care Unit of Hepatology for treatment of severe acute liver failure, with the suspicion of toxic hepatitis associated with anabolic steroid abuse. Despite the absence of symptoms and signs of congestive heart failure at admission, an anabolic steroid-induced dilated cardiomyopathy with a large thrombus in both ventricles was found to be the underlying cause of the liver injury. Treatment for the initially unrecognized heart failure rapidly restored liver function to normal. To our knowledge, this is the f irst reported case of severe acute liver failure due to an unrecognized anabolic steroid-induced cardiomyopathy. Awareness of this unique presentation will allow for prompt treatment of this potentially fatal cause of liver failure.

Aggression questionnaire scores in extremely violent male prisoners, male bodybuilders, and healthy non-violent men

Two aggression questionnaires, the Revised Swedish Version (AQ-RSV) of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) and the shortened and refined version by Bryant and Smith (BS-AQ) were compared. Both questionnaires identified subscore levels of aggression and there were significant differences between the groups. On the AQ-RSV subscales, the violent inmates showed statistically significantly more aggression for Hostility (p = 0.000), Anger (p = 0.000), Physical Aggression (p = 0.000) and Verbal Aggression (p = 0.01) than the healthy (non-violent) men. The bodybuilders, all “on” performance-enhancing substances, scored significantly higher on the Physical Aggression subscale than the healthy men (p = 0.000). Compared to the bodybuilders, the violent inmates scored significantly higher on the Anger (p = 0.02) and Hostility (p = 0.002) subscales. For the BS-AQ, where general variance was higher than for the original AQ, some of the above mentioned relationships were different. The violent inmates still scored significantly higher than the healthy men for Hostility (p = 0.000), Anger (p = 0.006) and Physical Aggression (p = 0.000), but not for Verbal Aggression. The inmates scored significantly higher than the bodybuilders for Anger (p = 0.006) and Verbal Aggression (p = 0.006), and the bodybuilders scored higher than the healthy men on the Physical Aggression (p = 0.002) subscale only. These and other more complex relationships are discussed in the light of previous findings. Thus the BS-AQ resulted in more sharply defined relationships and, at the same time, showed some important differences between the groups studied. Verbal Aggression does not seem to distinguish violent inmates from healthy men. Angry bodybuilders tend to express their aggression through Physical Aggression.