Weak economy is responsible for rampant swoleness, according to a new study :
Austerity has eroded young men’s traditional means of value-creation so they have become increasingly reliant on their bodies as a means of feeling valuable in society,” said study author Jamie Hakim, a professor at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. “In theoretical terms, so-called ‘spornosexuality’ is an embodied response to material changes brought about by neoliberal austerity.”
The study found that the most significant increase for gym attendance from 2006 to 2013 was among 16- to 25-year-old men. Hakim denied the growing interest in bodybuilding simply reflects a new craze.