In a society that strives for appearance, fitness is increasingly viewed as a means to reach a certain aesthetic ideal, rather than a way to improve health and physical performance. Every day millions of posts appear on social media promoting a visual representation of apparently fit, healthy and 'perfect' bodies. Combining personal accounts, clinical cases, and scientific research, this book explores how such new trends in society can lead to the development of exercise addiction and body image disorders. It explains how such a concern with physical appearance can act as a precursor or be symptomatic of other conditions, such as eating disorders, mood disorders, and the use of performance and image enhancing drugs. It highlights throughout the importance of raising awareness amongst health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health nurses, social workers and primary care physicians, of this growing challenge to prevent harm and improve treatment.
