STM goes inside the world of female bodybuilding - inside The Sunday Times

ONE of WA’s top doctors says young females are putting themselves at risk of “significant side effects” by the extreme dieting techniques they are using to enter bodybuilding competitions.

media_camera What does it take to be a female bodybuilder? Sasha Heber shares her story with STM. Inside this weekend’s The Sunday Times.

A special three-month investigation by The Sunday Times behind the scenes at the fast-growing competitions has uncovered how some competitors are using steroids, oestrogen blockers, hard liquor, “waterloading” and last-minute junk food gorgefests to get the “perfect body’’.

Australian Medical Association WA spokesman and head of emergency at Sir Charles Gairdner Dr David Mountain said the women could end up with long-term side-effects like kidney problems, liver disease and infertility.

“There are a whole bunch of long-term side effects,” he said.

“These are all basically (ways of) pushing bodies to extremes to look a particular way.

“It drives more dysfunctional behaviour, more problems with body image and I think it’s problematic that we have a whole branch of pseudo-sport that is completely about image and distorted body shape.”

Some female contestants said they were spending weeks using oestrogen blockers and even steroids to “bulk up their bodies”.

And drug use appeared to be normalised, with one bodybuilder claiming some competitors “smoked crack” to help them lose weight.

A controversial “waterloading” practice to “lean out” bodies was also popular.

Competitors told The Sunday Times how one week before a competition they drink up to 10L of fluids a day.

media_camera Extreme measures taken by female bodybuilders before competitions have raised concerns with Perth doctors. Photo: Social media

Then the night prior to competition they dehydrate, with some even taking diuretics – a medication normally used by seniors to promote urine production.

Competitors drink vodka and wine before going on stage to dehydrate further.

The idea is to increase their “vascularity” and make their veins “pop” so their muscles appear more dramatic.

Some contestants said they would drop their calorie intake to below 1000 while exercising more than three hours a day.

media_camera Extreme measures taken by female bodybuilders before competitions have raised concerns with Perth doctors. Photo: Social media

The recommended minimum calorie intake for a woman on a diet who is not exercising is 1200.

The Sunday Times also witnessed bingeing on junk food back stage prior to shows.

Foods ranged from chocolate muffins to fries covered in tomato sauce.

After stripping carbs from their diets in the weeks prior, the females believed the sudden introduction of sugar and salt would “bloat their muscles”.

A trawl through the social media profiles of young Perth female bodybuilders showed how brazen the extreme dieting had become – with women posting snaps of themselves drinking alcohol backstage, bingeing on junk food and guzzling 2L bottles of water.

Quotes supposed to be inspiring are also shared, including sayings like, “Find your limit, then crush it”, and, “Unless you puke, faint or die, keep going”.

Female bodybuilding is the latest craze in the burgeoning billion dollar fitness industry.

Women now double the number of men at major WA competitions.

Only two of the five major Australian bodybuilding competitions conduct drug testing. National Australian Body Building WA promoter Adam Baker said testing would be “too expensive” to conduct.

“It’s a bit of a grey area,” Mr Baker said.

“It’s one of those things when people don’t really talk about it.

“I can tell you for a fact 90 per cent or maybe higher (of women competitors) are all naturals, they live a very strict lifestyle.”

See STM in this weekend’s The Sunday Times for an exclusive look at the world of Perth’s female bodybuilders.

Originally published as Women warned over extreme bodybuilder diets