The Role Of Eating Disorders In Sports

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

Every year thousands of students are recruited to be student athletes at colleges and every year approximately 8 million individuals suffer from eating disorders. According to Psychology Applied to Modern Life, eating disorders are defined as “severe disturbances in eating behavior characterized by preoccupation with weight and unhealthy efforts to control weight (Weiten, Dunn, Hammer, 2011, p. 470).” Eating disorders can include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. With risk factors such as low self esteem, pressure from family, friends and coaches and access to unlimited to food it is no wonder that collegiate athletes have higher rates of eating disorders than regular

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).

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.

My audience is athletic trainers at the National Coaching Conference. Attendees of this conference are coaches, educators of coaches, sport science researcher, and students. They can use their extensive knowledge of coaching to develop a plan of action for the collection of coaches, across the nation, to take to combat eating disorders among athletes. The development of new regulations and educational requirements for coaches can only happen if a large number of coaches or coach educators are on board.

Although a great deal of early research on body image and eating disorders focused on upper/middle class Caucasians living in America or under the influence of Western ideals, many researchers are realizing that eating disorders are not isolated to this particular group. They are also realizing the differences in body image between occur in different races and genders (Pate, Pumariega, Hester 1992). Recently, several studies have shown that eating disorders transcend these specific guidelines, and increasingly, researchers are looking at male/female differences, cross-cultural variation and variation within cultures as well. It is impossible to broach the concept of body image without

Although disordered eating has historically been considered a female concern, it is on the rise among males. Estimates of disordered eating behaviors in athletes are growing, and are as high as 62% among female athletes and 33% among male athletes. Some athletes may also have eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, related to clinical mental conditions. Characteristics of a possible eating

The American Psychiatric Association defines an eating disorder as an illness that causes severe disturbances in eating behaviors and related thoughts and emotions. Individuals with eating disorders typically obsess over food and their body weight (Parekh, 2015). Eating disorders can affect both men and women of all ages. However, men and women athletes seem to be at a greater risk for developing eating disorders. Female athletes who have eating disorders often have what is called female athlete triad. Female athlete triad is the term used to describe three prevalent interconnected disorders among female athletes: low energy availability due to disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis.

In longing to reach the norm many people fall victim to these detrimental illnesses. Sadly, women are more subject to these eating disorders than men, the number of men suffering from eating disorders is on the rise. Our culture puts pressure on each of its inhabitants to attain this ideal body type that is unrealistic for most people. The images that pollute television and magazines make us all feel inadequate if we don't meet the credentials of slenderness; therefore, continuing the role of our society in the development of eating disorders.

The Article, from the Journal of Sport Behavior, “An Examination of Eating Disorder Profiles in Student Obligatory and Non-Obligatory Exercisers” written by Hilary Matheson, Anne Crawford-Wright (2000). The purpose of this study was “to highlight risk behaviors indicated in a student obligatory and non-obligatory exercise population comparing the result to other previous research” (Matheson & Crawford-Wright 2000). According to the authors there has been extensive research that focuses on the “relationships between

Wellness requires a balance between mental health and physical health. Researching the effect between exercise behaviors and physical self-esteem on eating behaviors looks at one facet of this relationship. Exercise behaviors that will be looked at will take into account intensity of exercise, exercise frequency, and motivations for exercise. Self-esteem is multifaceted, but focusing on physical self-esteem pinpoints the physical appearance factors. Eating behaviors will be defined as the presence of significant eating disorder symptomology further detailed in the methods section. Eating disorder categories covered are anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and orthorexia. For the purpose of this study binge eating disorder (BED) will

The altered eating and exercise patterns of those with eating disorders can seriously damage physical and emotional health. The ANAB (n.d.) contends activities associated with eating disorders place one in medical danger. Strenuous over-exercising is often seen in those with eating disorders even though they may be quite ill. The body of an eating disorder sufferer frequently has electrolyte imbalances and gastrointestinal problems. The