Oli Loyne was just 20 years old when he died of a heart attack.

He had already recovered from a stroke and two heart attacks at the age of 19, but the third attack killed him.

Mr Loyne had been taking steroids and excessively weight training, and is believed to have suffered from bigorexia, a disorder characterised by the desire to be muscular.

Bigorexia, more formally known as muscle dysmorphia, is like anorexia - but in reverse.

A tenth of men in British gyms may suffer from bigorexia, a condition where they excessively weight lift, believing they are puny but in fact are muscular (file photo)

Whereas anorexics think they are too fat when they are actually too thin, bigorexics think they look puny when, in fact, they are muscular.

It is now believed that a tenth of men in British gyms suffer from the condition, a BBC Newsbeat investigation found.

It is an anxiety disorder which can lead to depression and suicide - but also steroid abuse, which has its own deadly side effects, as the Loyne family knows only too well.

Mr Loyne's mother, Sarah, said his muscle dysmorphia may have been trigged by insecurities over his height.

'It was a lot to do with the fact he was so short,' she said.

'He was about 5"2. He didn't have the height and he wanted to make up for that by being as wide as he could.

'THE QUEST FOR A "PERFECT" BODY LEFT ME SUICIDAL' Adam Trice, 31, from Shipley, West Yorkshire, was an amateur bodybuilder when he became obsessed with becoming bigger. He went to the gym constantly, and started using steroids, in a quest to sculpt the 'perfect' body. 'I started off at 12 stone, my goal was 15, I got to 15, then it was 17, then it was 19, and you're always striving for something else, the goalpost is constantly moving,' he said. He ended up losing his job, his girlfriend and his home. Eventually, he became so depressed that he tried to take his own life, he said. 'I was unhappy; I didn't have peace in my life. I was not dealing with my problem and I tried to take my own life. I was in a really dark place,' he said. He ended up in hospital and had to seek professional help. 'I had a lot of therapy, did a lot of work on myself and found out a lot about myself. I learnt to like myself.' Steroid use can be a sign of bigorexia. These drugs can boost muscle growth but there is a long list of side-effects. This includes hair loss, testicle shrinkage and increased risk of heart and liver problems. Advertisement

'There was just no getting through to him. No getting through about what he was doing to his body.

'He was like "I need to look like the image in my head. I need to look big.''

Bigorexia can affect men and women, but one expert suggested many cases go unreported.

Rob Willson, chair of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation, said: 'We know about 10 per cent of men in the gym may have muscle dysmorphia.'

He believes the condition is a growing problem, but that many cases may be going undiagnosed because there is little awareness of the disorder.

'Muscle dysmorphia is a preoccupation with the idea that one isn't big enough, isn't muscular enough,' he told BBC journalists.

'There are thousands upon thousands with it, who are going to be excessively concerned about their appearance, having very poor self-esteem, and also feeling very anxious and very worried.

'Sometimes individuals can become very depressed and hopeless and that can even lead to suicide,' he said.

Mr Willson said men are increasingly conditioned to think that they need to look a certain way if they want to feel successful, powerful and attractive.

'We're seeing an increased pressure on men to look muscular, create a "V" shape and have a six pack,' he added.

The causes of bigorexia are not clear.

The NHS states body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), an umbrella term which includes muscle dysmorphia, may be genetic or caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Life experiences may also be a factor, with bigorexia possibly more common in people who were bullied or abused as a child.

People with the condition are normally reluctant to seek treatment, which involves Cognitive Behaviourhal Therapy and anti-depressants.