Are men becoming more body obsessed than women?

SOCIAL media users are setting an alarming new trend for body obsessed behaviour — but it’s affecting men more than women.
The Mirin trend (#Mirin), is followed by a fast growing group of young men who share photos of themselves in a muscle pose, displaying a toned physique or a post workout figure.
Far from being a niche trend, the #Mirin trend is crossing over into the mainstream with thousands of young men following the trend.
#Mirin is short for ‘are you admiring?’ and asks for social media friends to be jealous of the users photograph and aesthetics on show.

But research by Bodybuilding Warehouse, a sports nutrition distributor, has revealed that the number of people taking part in the new #mirin trend has more than doubled in the past year, especially amongst young males between the ages of 17 to 30.
The hashtag has been on the rise and increased by 59 per cent from March 2013 to March 2014, and is arguably more self-celebratory and narcissistic than other popular social media hashtags.
It is believed male celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Nick Jonas have led the way in flaunting and flexing their muscles on social media platforms such as Instragram and Twitter, as the research also shows there has been a 47 per cent increase in men parading their body images across social media platforms in the last 12 months.
While women are believed to be more conscious about their body shapes and weight than men, it seems trends like these are rapidly affecting men too.
So the question is, are men becoming more body obsessed than women? And if so, why are eating disorders among men still so overlooked?
It is clear that, with trends like these, male self-objectification is beginning to go a step too far.
While it’s great that men want to look after themselves, I fear that trends like these provide the recipe for a dangerous new obsession.
In the past I’ve detailed how shocked I was to discover just how ‘metrosexual’ our male species are becoming.
One trip to a nightclub and you’ll see flocks of men the colour of chicken tikka flaunting their pecs in low-cut tank tops.
Over the past fews years, the media has widely detailed how men are taking longer to get ready than women, with the likes of TOWIE’s Joey Essex setting a trend for spray tans and makeup for men.

Sales of sports supplements, aimed at increasing muscle mass and creating an aesthetic look, have also increased by 62 per cent in men aged 17–30 from March 2013 until March this year.
Research like this further proves that the preoccupation with how we look only seems to spiral the more social media trends — like selfies — emerge.
A quick glance online and you are inundated with snapshots of body parts and adverts promising six-pack abs and weight loss.
TV isn’t much better, with preening male models boasting how they can ‘pull women’ with a flex of their muscles, particularly on reality shows such as Geordie Shore.
It’s great to be fashionably groomed but isn’t all this scrutiny, intensified by competitive online trends, just making people torture themselves?
Our country is obsessed with physical perfection as it is. Trends like these are starting to become embarassing.
Plus, I’m not sure if I like the idea of men becoming all scarily buff and vain.
I still want to be the one hogging the mirror in the morning.