Bodybuilders push their limits through intense exercise, strict diets, and in some cases, the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs. While the result is a sculpted body, it comes at a cost, and as per a recent study, the tradeoff is the human life being cut short.
Researchers found that those who built extreme levels of muscle over the years, i.e. the professional bodybuilders, were twice as likely to die from sudden cardiac death, compared to the general population. Some 40 per cent of the deaths among all bodybuilders studied were sudden and heart-related.
The research, published on Tuesday (May 20) in the European Heart Journal, looked for reports of deaths among 20,286 male bodybuilders who had competed in at least one bodybuilding event between 2005 and 2020. The reported deaths were cross-referenced using multiple sources, verified and later analysed by doctors to establish the cause of death.
The researchers found 121 deaths among 20,000 professional builders, with the average age at death being 45 years. The findings showed that bodybuilders experienced a fivefold greater risk of cardiac death compared to amateurs.
"Most dead athletes were from North America (40.5 per cent, mostly from the USA), followed by Europe (38.8 per cent), Asia (7.4 per cent), Africa (6.6 per cent), South America (5 per cent), and Oceania (1.7 per cent)," the study highlighted.
The post-mortem reports of some of the bodybuilders showed signs of thickening or enlargement of the heart and coronary artery disease. Some also abused anabolic substances, which put significant strain on the heart, leading to structural changes over time.
"Bodybuilding involves several practices that could have an impact on health, such as extreme strength training, rapid weight loss strategies including severe dietary restrictions and dehydration, as well as the widespread use of different performance-enhancing substances," said study co-author Marco Vecchiato, an expert in sports medicine at the University of Padova.
"While striving for physical excellence is admirable, the pursuit of extreme body transformation at any cost can carry significant health risks, particularly for the heart," he added.
The research also pointed out the mental aspect of bodybuilding at the highest level. The pressure to achieve social ideals of muscularity may contribute to psychological distress, body dissatisfaction, and athletes may develop or worsen body dysmorphic disorders
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