February 26th-March 4th is Eating Disorders Awareness week, and the Olympics are currently going on, so I thought it would be appropriate to discuss eating disorders in athletes. You may not think about the sports where thinness might be an advantage, or how athletes (male and female) feel when they are being judged by their body size or how they look in their swimsuit, costume, or if the sport has a weight requirement. Eating disorders in athletes tend to be more common in sports such as ballet, figure skating, gymnastics, running, swimming, diving, body building.
Vulnerability to Eating Disorders
Several factors play into eating disorders in athletes such as the social pressure for thinness. Our culture associates thinness and beauty. There is also the belief system that if one is thinner then they will be faster. This might be somewhat true in the beginning, but some athletes might not know when to stop.
Family factors may also play a role of the eating disorders in athletes according to NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association). One risk factor is family dysfunction. Another is excess pressure from the parents trying to live their life through their child. Trauma, physical, or sexual abuse are other risk factors. Low self-esteem, peers, and other family members having eating disorders play a role. And as mentioned above, there is intense social pressure from the media to be thin.
The three pressures that women with eating disorders are most vulnerable to are: the social pressure for thinness, performance anxiety, and feeling that they have not succeeded as an athlete.
The Dark Side of Figure Skating
There was recently an article in an article by David Cox titled Eating disorders: The dark side of figure skating. According to the article, ‘Figure skaters go great lengths to preserve their body image which has serious repercussions to their health.’ Many people think eating disorders are a women’s disease. Men also suffer.
Two well-known figure skaters have stopped skating altogether due to their eating disorder. They are Gracie Gold who is from the US, who won a team bronze medal in Sochi 4 years ago, and Yulia Lipnitskaya from Russia who won a gold medal.
As with several other sports, figure skaters are well aware of how they are physically viewed, for their bodies as well as their appearance. So not only do they have to be perfect in their sport, they have to be perfect with their bodies. This can take a huge toll on mental health. Gold said she was not returning as she was “undergoing treatment for depression, anxiety and an eating disorder.”
Typically mental health issues are not discussed in the world of skating. To do so is considered weak. This also gets into the stigma of mental health, which is a whole other issue unto itself.
It doesn’t help that coaches may make comments about an athletes weight and their ability to perform. Some who skate with a partner have been told that they are “too heavy to be lifted” or “fat don’t fly.”
Stress fractures are common among skaters and other athletes with eating disorders. Many of them have osteopenia or osteoporosis, which increases the risk for fracture and injury.
Effects of Puberty
Another factor that affects several sports is a woman going through puberty. By restricting their food intake, they can slow down the effects of maturation and change in body size. As girls mature, the natural curves that develop can change their center of gravity and their ability to make certain jumps or turns, according to Cox.
These are some are things to think about when looking at athletes and eating disorders.
If you know someone who struggles with an eating disorder, treatment is necessary. Most people cannot get through it by them self. Eating disorders are very difficult to treat, and has the highest mortality rate out of all the mental disorders. Give me a call at 713-304-6554 if you or someone you care about has an eating disorder.
Take care,
Debbie
