Many men now seem to increasingly consuming over-the-counter body-building supplements due to low self-esteem, poor body image and a belief that they are misfit in the modern ideal of masculinity. Researchers warn that taking such supplements is an emerging eating disorder.

Whey protein, creatine and L-cartinine are supplements meant for improving athletic performance and physique. These are easily available in grocery stores, vitamin shops and online.

Gym members use them extensively to increase energy and build lean tissue mass. However, overuse of these supplements poses threats to health, said researchers at Alliant International University in Los Angeles.

“Men are using the supplements in a way that is risky both to their physical health and their health in terms of relationships and their own emotional wellbeing. It is an expression, or variance, of eating disorder behavior in these men”, said Richard Achiro, of the California School of Professional Psychology at the university.

The problem in men is in contrast to anorexia or bulimia in women, which results from a desire to be thin. Men are so obsessed with the macho-man personality that they are using supplements to a dangerous extent to achieve it.

Low self-esteem and gender role conflict causes an underlying sense of insecurity about one's masculinity. These factors are majorly responsible for making men overuse these products than body dissatisfaction alone.

Achiro discussed his work on the issue at the American Psychological Association convention in Toronto on Thursday. His research found that 29% of 200 men who took supplements in the past month expressed concerns about using them.