CBS News Transcripts

SHOW: The Early Show (7:00 AM ET) - CBS
November 21, 2003 Friday

HEADLINE: Teen-age boys becoming obsessed with their bodies

ANCHORS: HANNAH STORM
REPORTERS: TRACY SMITH

HANNAH STORM, co-host:
We all know how body-conscious teen-age girls are these days, but now a growing number of boys are becoming body-obsessed too.  EARLY SHOW correspondent Tracy Smith has details in this week's Study Hall Report. Good morning, Tracy.

TRACY SMITH reporting:
Hi, Hannah.  Now you aren't going to hear a teen-age guy say, 'Does my butt look big in this?' But, yes, just like us girls, more and more boys want to change what they see in the mirror.

   Though you can hardly tell by the look on his face, 16-year-old Kyle McKendrick likes spending time with dumbbells.

   KYLE McKENDRICK (16-Year-Old): I'm reaching for a goal, to get big, so, you know, you gotta--you gotta put in the time.

   SMITH: He lifts weights one and a half hours a day, five days a week.

   When you say you want to be big, what's the goal?

   McKENDRICK: To be able to impress girls and have--get compliments.  'Oh, you have a nice body' or stuff like that.

   SMITH: But he's got some competition.  According to industry reports, the number of Americans younger than 18 who belong to health clubs hit four million last year, a 97 percent increase over the last decade.

   LEKAN OLADEJI-NICHOLSON (High School Student): Last year, I mean, when we were in middle school, you didn't really see a lot of guys.  You saw a lot of scrawny guys.  They were little.  we'd pick on them a little bit. But I guess, you know, they've started bulking up now, and they don't want to be talked to.

   SMITH: And more and more schools, like Packer in Brooklyn, New York, are installing state-of-the-art gyms right on campus.

   Mr. RICH DOMANICO (Athletic Director, Packer High School): We've gotten a--a--a tremendous response from all different kinds of students.

   JAMIE KURTZ (Packer High School Student): People think that like the best kind of guy is like a buff, big guy so they kind of want to be like that.

   SMITH: What's the number one thing that teen-age guys ask for when they come in here?

   Mr. TAREK HASSEIB (Owner, Champion Fitness Center): Abs.

   SMITH: Tarek Hasseib owns this gym in New Jersey.  He says just like girls, boys want to look like what they see in magazines...

   (Footage of various magazine covers)

   SMITH: ...and on TV.

   (Footage of television program)

   Mr. HASSEIB: And kids pick up on that.  And they want to look like that, and they'll do anything to look like that.

   SMITH: In fact, you might just call it an abs-session, and that has some child behavior experts worried.

   Dr. ALVIN ROSENFELD (Child Psychiatrist): What's bad for you is to think that your body is who you are.

   SMITH: This adolescent psychiatrist says boys are starting to suffer from the same body-image issues that have plagued girls for decades.

   Dr. ROSENFELD: They feel they're not adequate.  They need to be made adequate, so if my muscle's big enough, then I'm big enough.

   SMITH: But wait a second.  What about the childhood obesity epidemic? Millions of kids are at risk for heart disease, high blood pressure diabetes because they're too heavy.  Some say we should be applauding kids who want to be gym rats rather than couch potatoes.

   Mr. LOU SCHULER (Fitness Director, Men's Health Magazine): They're on the right track.  It's the kids who aren't exercising at all that we should be worried about.

   SMITH: Lou Schuler's the fitness director of Men's Health magazine.

   Mr. SCHULER: They're doing something they enjoy.  They're doing something that improves their self-image.  How can that be bad.

   Unidentified Man: One more, one more.

   SMITH: To Kyle, it's all good.  Since he started lifting seriously last year, he's gained 20 pounds and a girlfriend.

   McKENDRICK: I guess I feel more confident now because I feel stronger and I feel--I feel better about myself.

   SMITH: Now the main concern here is that kids with a weight lifting obsession will start taking dangerous shortcuts, like steroids.  So experts say if your son or daughter is hitting the gym a lot, make sure you have a conversation with them about the dangers of steroid abuse.

   STORM: And also even natural supplements, too, because a lot is not known about the long-term effects.

   SMITH: Good point.

   STORM: Thanks to Tracy Smith.

   This is THE EARLY SHOW on CBS.