A recent study suggests that the growing use of dietary supplements in men, driven by the need to attain an ideal body image, might signal a new kind of disordered eating. Researchers found that of 195 men who had admitted to taking legal dietary supplements, such as whey protein, creatine, or L-carnitine, over 40% had increased supplement use over time, and 22% had replaced regular meals with dietary supplements that were not meant to be used that way. Furthermore, 29% of the men actually expressed concern about their increased supplement use, 8% had been advised by their physician to cut back on supplement use, and 3% had been admitted to the hospital for kidney or liver damage associated with dietary supplements.
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