Bodybuilders may be putting themselves at risk. Source: Getty Images
THE resurgence of viral images of Austrian bodybuilder Andreas Munzer has reignited the debate about the dangers of bodybuilding.
Munzer died 19 years ago this month of what appeared to be multiple organ failure as a result of alleged anabolic steroid abuse.
The bodybuilder’s autopsy revealed he had almost 0 per cent body fat at the time of his death and experts suggested this could have played a role in his demise.
Andreas Munzer. Source: Twitter
Columbia University movement sciences professor Carol Garber said men required at least 3 per cent body fat and women needed at least 12 per cent in order to avoid serious health complications.
“You need body fat for cellular function, energy use and to pad the joints and organs,” she told Good Morning America.
“Having too little can lead to nutritional deficiencies, electrolyte imbalances and malfunction of the heart, kidney and other organs.”
Musclemaniaproducer Louis Zwick saw Munzer 10 days before his death and doubts his body was completely absent of fat.
“I’ve never really seen anyone who really had zero body fat,” he said.
“You just can’t be. You wouldn’t survive.”
In saying that, Zwick admits there is a dangerous culture in the sport with bodybuilders aiming to be as lean as humanly possible.
“There are still some bodybuilders obsessed about their numbers who take their body fat percentage readings on a regular basis,” he said.
US Bodybuilding Federation commissioner Brian Washington added that, despite the risks, bodybuilders had a perpetual obsession with stripping every last ounce of fat from their body to look like Munzer.
“Percentage of body fat is a major issue with bodybuilders,” he said.
“They devote a lot of their efforts and money on products to go as low as they can possibly go.”
