The emotional regulatory features of bulimic episodes and compulsive exercise in muscle dysmorphia: a case report

Muscle dysmorphia is a recently identified psychiatric condition, whose relationship to the eating disorders remains unclear. This case describes an adolescent male who met diagnostic criteria for both an eating disorder not otherwise specified and muscle dysmorphia, allowing the first examination of read muscle dysmorphia presentations. This case suggests that muscle dysmorphia may present inclusive of episodes of binge eating and purging in addition to compulsive exercise, which may serve an emotional regulation function. We suggest that the assessment of muscle dysmorphia include a comprehensive assessment of all eating disorder features including bulimic symptoms, and that treatment address these features. Clinical implications for the conceptualization of muscle dysmorphia are discussed.