I am doing a research paper for my senior seminar class (exercise physiology) and I was wondering if anyone had some links to "The Long-Term Effects of Bodybuilding and/or Figure Competing"? Positive or negative. I have a lot of research already but there is no such thing as too much research!

Long term effect on the natural body builder has been great for me. I have always had a healthy background toward eating and had known fast food was going to be BAD. I've always cooked most of my meals and never really got into the going out to eat for whatever reason.
So, the major transition going from powerlifter to pumper (powerlifter term for BB) was simply the breakdown of meals into more like 6 and the cut-back in some bulking foods like bread.

The minor drawback is how fads can lead to eating disorders, such as "Bulking up". There's a right way and wrong way.

I'm also surprised how many body builders still train with old school nutrition, the not good type, such as STARVING several weeks prior, the abstinence of salt during the "12 weeks diet down".

It is now 11 years of body building and I feel I have actually been a healthier life style. Much less junk entering the body than if I had continued powerlifting.

I've continued to lift heavy as many have on here with relatively little joint issues. Those issues have come about from trying to get fancy such as twisting dumb bell presses or curls. There have been muscle tear issues, but I believe it was not training related, but supplemental juices that ended up depleting potassium!

As a body builder, nutrition became more of a science than just scheduling dinner. The more one learns, the more the desire to seek information.

I can't say or find anything negative. What has been negative had positive doors that opened.

I hope this helps!!

Thanks Frank! You always come through! Anyone else?

First off the decision to compete naturally or on performance enhancing drugs will have a huge impact on your long term health.

I can comment on comepting naturally since I have been doing it 10+ yrs. So here it goes-I think the main consequences and concerns lies with the large intake of proteins. That being said, there is more than one way to skin a cat and one has many options for protein. Many diseases such as cancers, heart disease and colon cancer has been linked to high animal protein consumption. So common sense would tell us to injest more vegetable proteins but the problem lies in the amino acid profile of vegetable proteins because they are inferior to animal proteins when it comes to muscle building.

Chek out proactivehealthnet.com

they have alot of great studies published-

I would love to read your paper when you are done?

To help narrow your focus, instead of focusing on the broad topic of competing, look into the various aspects of competing (e.g. nutrition, intense physical exertion, long-term effects of weight train on joint health, a comparison of the health benefits between weight training, cardiovascular activity and using both...etc.)

Whatever you decide on, I'd be interested in reading.

the long term effect has been life changing . i do not do drugs as some choose to advance, i got into bodybuilding to stay AWAY from drugs and alchohol of my previous love music. i have learned more about myself and my body through nutrition than i ever would have just going through school for a grade. you have to live through it. and i love it.,

Thank you SOOOOOO much for all of the great responses and advice. I am actually semi changing my topic to something with Overtraining and Overtraining Syndrome. I need research based articles and sadly, there just isn't a lot out there about research combined with bodybuilding and/or figure competing