The relationship between the drive for muscularity and anthropometric measures of muscularity and adiposity

Researchers have found consistently positive associations between women's body dissatisfaction and the desire to be thin and anthropometric indices of the amount of body fat they care on their frame. However, with the increasing emphasis being given to men's body image concerns, such as the drive for muscularity, it is important to study the relationship between men's desire to become more muscular and the actual amount of muscle they carry on their frames. That is, because men who want to become muscular can achieve that through strength training, do those with a high drive for muscularity have a high level of muscle mass? We explored this issue in a sample of 100 college-aged men and found that only one of four anthropometric measure of muscularity (flexed bicep circumference) was predictive of engaging in muscularity-oriented behaviors, while none predicted attitudes about becoming more muscular. These findings suggest either that men's drive for muscularity is unrelated to their actual level of muscularity or that current anthropometric indices are not accurate enough for a significant relationship to emerge. Suggestions for future research and study limitations were discussed.