Are Female Gymnasts Susceptible to Eating Disorders? Maya Jackson Texas Tech University Abstract 200 words Introduction Aesthetic sports such as gymnastics and dance demand a high amount of exercise and performance ability. For many female gymnasts, a lower body weight is associated with their success rate, however, a lower body weight often will cause eating disorders period. Prolong eating disorders can result in osteoporosis. A reported 28 percent of elite gymnasts have an eating disorder. The purpose of this study is to view how susceptible female gymnasts are to eating disorders. Literature Review 600-1000 The research studies discussed in this literature review provided a generic …show more content…
This self-esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965) includes 10 statements that are used to measure out self-satisfaction and self-esteem. Each item is scored on a Likert scale that ranges from 1 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree). The 10 statements are divided in half with the first five being positive self-esteem statements and the other five being negative self-esteem statements. The scores were totaled and ranged from 10-40 points. The higher the score was this indicated a high self-esteem and vice versa with a low score resulting in low self-esteem. Eating Attitudes Test -26 (EAT-26). The following test is a questionnaire used to measure the disturbed eating symptoms of the participants. The questionnaire is measured by a 6-point scale system that extends from “always” to “never” examining how regularly the participant is involved with eating disordered conduct. The statements had pints to go along with them to help with scoring; “often” received one point, “very often” received two points, and “always” received three points. The three other options, “sometimes,” “rarely,” and “never,” received the score of 0. If the received 20 points or above, there is a presence of an eating …show more content…
If the email received a reply, a follow-up visit to the gym was conducted to speak with the main coach or head owner of the gym to fill out paperwork and go over any questions that may have arisen. After both gyms agreed and confirmed to participate in the study, 25 girls were selected at random from each gym by drawing names from a hat to exclude any biased opinions. After 25 names had been drawn for each gym, a time was arranged to attend a practice to hand out consent forms for the gymnasts whose names were drawn to take home and be looked over and signed by their parents or respected guardians. After all of the consent forms were returned and checked, it was safe to proceed with the
Eating disorders have become very common today, not only with women but men too (Bordo 2). This fixation with being skinny can be seen most often with modeling. Men and women both are required to be a certain weight if they want to be accepted to a modeling agency. Failure to stay under the weight limit will most likely terminate their contract with that agency. Not only do we see this in modeling or fashion but professional sports. I will never forget watching the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders show a few years ago and watching how big of a deal that the cheerleaders stay within their set weight limit. One of the cheerleaders was five pounds over that limit and was called in for a warning or she would be kicked off the team. Her response, “I guess I’ll have to cut out my favorite snack, PB and J’s.” That moment forever stuck out to me, and made me realize I would never wish to be put under a weight limit for sports, jobs, etc. People often forget starving your body of nutrients is another form of an eating disorder. Bordo claims that, “Eating disorders are also linked to the contradictions of consumer culture, which is continually encouraging us to binge on our desires at the same time as it glamorizes self-discipline and scorns fat as a symbol of laziness and lack of willpower.” (Bordo 2). With the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders as just an example, it goes to show also how much of an effect
What are eating disorders? Are eating disorders a reality for cheerleaders? Is cheerleading a sport that causes females to develop eating disorders? Ron Thompson explains in his book Eating Disorders in Sport that, “Eating disorders are not simply disorders of eating. Also, they are not simply a misguided attempt to be thin; nor are they simply a sport participant’s means to reduce body weight or body fat in an effort to enhance sport performance. They are mental disorders that manifest themselves in a variety of eating and weight-related signs and symptoms” (7-8). I believe that eating disorders are a true and tough reality for cheerleaders especially females. Cheerleading is known as an aesthetic sport, such sport has a higher risk factor to develop eating disorders. Cheerleaders are judged for appearance and wear revealing clothing causing them to
It is important to distinguish between normal eating and the behaviors that typify eating disorders or disordered eating. Even among those attempting to lose weight or maintain a lower percentage of body fat, normal eating is “flexible and not obsessive.” (Dunford and Doyle 455). Although athletes have a stricter nutrition plan versus the general population, their eating should actively support training through moderate levels of restraint yet should still allow for healthy eating patterns such as eating when hungry, not feeling the need to punish oneself after an indulgence through excessive caloric restriction or exercise, and the ability to participate in social events. Dunford and Doyle term this as “discipline, not…obsession” (456). While the eating disorders of anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating all have clear-cut clinical definitions, disordered eating is a more nebulous term that can define a wider array of
Four areas of self-esteem discussed in the text are social, academic, physical, and moral self-esteem.
With that being said, certain sports put more emphasize on a player’s weight and performance than others. For instance, gymnastics, dancers, wrestlers, divers and long distance runners feature more strain than sports such as basketball, skiing or volleyball. Gymnasts and dancers are highly at risk for developing eating disorders for multiple reasons. The main reason is that their success relies
Low self-esteem has been an issues with many people since before the 1970’s. This issue has gradually picked up since the 70’s and has progressed 37% in the last 200
Numerous studies have shown that athletes are more prone to developing eating disorders than nonathletes, as well as female athletes being more at risk than their male counterparts. Disordered eating is seen in athletes of all sports. (Johnson, 1994). The prevalence of eating disorders in the female athletic population ranges from anywhere between one and forty percent, depending on the athletes questioned, and the methodology used (Sundgot-Borgen, 1994). Rosen and Hough (1988) found that 32 percent of athletes practiced at least one pathogenic weight-control technique(141). A study done by Sundgot-Borgen, in 1994, controlled for the possibility that self-report data could be unreliable in numerous ways, including not informing coaches of their intentions, and assuring 100 percent confidentiality to the athletes who participated. It found that the risk for eating disorders is increased if an athlete's dieting is unsupervised, if there is an early start to sport-specific training, and/or extreme exercise (Sundgot-Borgen, 418).
Eating disorders are a very serious psychological condition that affects your mind so that you are more focused on your food and weight than you are on everything else. The most known and most commonly diagnosed eating disorders are anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder; however, these are not the only eating disorders. Eating disorders cause psychical and psychological problems, which at their worst can even become life threating. Statistics show that more women are affected by eating disorders, but men none the less can still be affected. “Age (most common from teens to early twenties), Family history (hereditary), emotional disorders (people with anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder are at a great chance), transitions (moving, heading to college, or anything that can bring emotional distress), and sports (ballerinas, gymnasts, runners, and wrestlers are at a higher risk) also can play a role in who is being affected by an eating disorder” (Eating Disorders).
The Eating Attitude Test yields the overall score and has three subscales that can help determine some specifics. The overall score has a cutoff of 20, and those who score less than 20 are considered as not having an eating disorder, while those who score 20 and more will have to be evaluated by the follow-up assessment tool (Garner & Garfinkel, 1979). The subscales reveal information about bulimia, food preoccupation, dieting and oral control subscales.
Bulimia and anorexia have found their way into the sport of elite, or Olympic-level gymnastics. In a 1992 University of Washington study of 182 female college athletes, 62% of college gymnasts have practiced at least one form of disordered eating. This percentage was higher than that of any other sport. Many elite gymnasts have come forward to admit that they suffer from eating disorders. These gymnasts include: 1970 world medallist, Cathy Rigby, 1972 Olympian Nancy Marshall, 1984 Olympic medallist Kathy Johnson, 1989 junior national champion Erica Stokes and Christy Henrich.
Coaches today have trained their gymnasts to maintain the so called “proper weight” that they feel is right for their athletes. Christy Henrich’s coach “claims that gymnastics and its emphasis on slimness are not responsible for Christy’s illness and death. He claims her intense drive to win contributed to her eating disorder. The gymnastic training system encourages young female athletes to keep their weight down, and many gymnasts live on diets of fruits, laxatives, and painkillers” (93). This coach’s statement is not unusual. Many gymnasts go through this kind of training throughout their gymnastics career. We have the ability to change what goes on in gyms like this one. As a lot of psychologists suggest, we as a society have to “inform” our athletes and coaches about the dangers of eating disorders. I don’t think that coaches ever talk to the athletes about the importance of healthy dieting. Most of the time they encourage them to cut down on eating, not to just reconstruct their
Eating disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa, bulimia) are not rare in today’s society. They have become increasingly common among young women. Research indicates that there is a link between the media’s representation of “the perfect body” as well as ideals of attractiveness with dissatisfaction of body image and eating disorders (Ferguson, Munoz, Garza, & Galindo, 2013). In this current literature review, I will focus on the impact of eating disorders among female collegiate student-athletes with an emphasis on how sports can play an influential role in the development of eating disorders. Female collegiate student-athletes are at risk of developing eating disorders not only because of societal pressures on women to be thin, but also due to sport-specific pressures to change their body weight, size or shape. Factors that contribute to sport culture and pressure on female athletes include performance anxiety, revealing uniforms, and coaches’ influences on their athletes (Coker-Cranney & Reel, 2015).
Eating disorders may initially be a choice not to eat but it becomes an addiction, similar to how smoking or drinking becomes addictive. Ballerinas are more likely to dislike their body because their body may not fit their body goals. “Body dissatisfaction is present among 37% to 84% of ballet dancers” (Ringham). Similar to how some teens idolize celebrities’ rich lifestyles, ballerinas idolize professional dancers’ body physiques. In the dancing world, having a skinny body is praised. It is seem as a necessity as a dancer, when it really is not. The percentage is unfortunately a high amount, which means that the eating disorders must be stopped. Coaches and dance teachers are beginning to reach out to any of their students that seems to have an eating disorder, by monitoring their behaviors and maybe their eating habits if permitted. It is unfortunate to have dancers develop eating disorders from a hobby and passion that they love. “Anorexia [an eating disorder where one starves themselves] is something I will have to deal with for the rest of my life, however, and truly getting over it is a long process” (Cappelle). Eating disorders are a huge obstacle for dancers because it affects their body and it will slowly affect the way they dance and perceive the world as well. People who suffer from eating disorders
It was decided that the goal would best be reached through a questionnaire given to people to fill out that would evaluate their self esteem. After going through many the Baarksdale self esteem evaluation no.69 , it was decided on as being the most thorough and the one most pertaining to he research. Some questions at the end were added asking for age, sex, and whether or not they play competitive sports. These questions were added so we could separate them onto the respective categories: athlete/non athlete. Our control group would be the group that does not play on a sports team. The athletes would be compared to them. The questionaries were handed out randomly.
Self-esteem has recently been defined by Silverstone as "the sense of contentment and self-acceptance that stems from a person's appraisal of their own worth, significance, attractiveness, competence and ability to satisfy their aspirations" (Silverstone 1992). Self-esteem is the degree to which a person values and respects themselves, and is proud of their accomplishments. Self-esteem begins to develop in childhood, but it solidifies and gains momentum during the turbulent and trying years of adolescence. The teenage years tend to be a crucial "make it or break it" period when it comes to self-esteem because it is at this time that youngsters are searching for an identity. If this process goes awry, the teen