Eating Disorders in Athletes
Eating disorders are scary. There is no way around that fact. They can be hard to understand, both for the person suffering and for their loved ones. The pressure to be thin, to look different, or to achieve “perfection” can lead to lifelong unhealthy behaviors.
For young athletes, this pressure can increase exponentially. With sports that require certain weights, physiques, and even a bigger spotlight on their body. While athletics can be a great way to stay active and healthy, it is also important to familiarize yourself with what to look out for to ensure sports don’t perpetuate unhealthy body image.
At any given moment, 1 out of 7 women struggle with disordered eating, and 36% of adolescent girls believe they are overweight. This illness is not unique or rare, but it comes with a severe stigma. When it comes to sports, young girls who compete individually are at a greater risk of developing disordered eating. Those sports include gymnastics, figure skating, swimming, and any other sport where the sole focus is on the individual. These are sometimes referred to as “aesthetic sports,” where the emphasis in scoring is on appearance. That, paired with clothing that is often skin-tight, can emphasize areas where girls don’t feel comfortable in their own bodies.
In fact, gymnasts are often celebrated for their small bodies, despite surveys that show that 28% of female gymnasts may suffer from eating disorders. And when we look at weight and height trends across female gymnasts, there is more cause to be alarmed. In 1976 the average weight and height U.S. team was 5’3 and 105 pounds, which is already small, but in 1992 that shrunk to an average of 4’9 and 88 pounds. Being small is a requirement to be competitive, and that can put unnecessary pressure on young girls to diet, exercise past their limits, and potentially develop an eating disorder.
While individual sports can increase eating disorders, team sports are not immune. My own time playing high school soccer lead to severe scrutiny over diet and how our bodies look. From pre-game meals, dissatisfaction with “thunder thighs,” and the immediate comparison with other teammates, at times, the experience was incredibly damaging and toxic. And this isn’t a unique experience. High school soccer player, Eryn Hill, struggled with an eating disorder during her senior year. She was barely eating, using food as a way to control something in her life, and at times only eating 500 calories a day. Not only did this lead to her hospitalization, but it also made it harder to compete at the level she used to. Another former college soccer player, Erin Konheim Mandras, talked about her struggles to both have the athletic body needed to play at her peak, but also feel feminine off the field.
In recent years, more and more Olympic athletes have come out as eating disorder survivors. Our strongest heroes are often struggling with internal battles. But if we know that competitive sports increase the risk of eating disorders, why hasn’t anything changed? For many, the need to be competitive trumps health. Money, fame, and success are all powerful motivators to maintain a certain weight or physique, no matter how unhealthy. But even more importantly, adults in charge often push adolescents to an ideal of perfection. For Olympic runner Suzy Hamilton, her coaches would make fun of her for her fuller figure, which encouraged her to get a breast reduction and led to her developing bulimia.
The power dynamics that exist in sports often make adolescents feel like they can’t stand up for themselves. Instead, they believe and internalize what they hear coaches, teachers, and their parents say to them. It’s important to focus on health over success or aesthetics for young athletes. Sure, the pressure to win a gold medal is great, but no one is winning a medal when they are hospitalized for an eating disorder.
It’s important to realize anyone can develop an eating disorder, and there is nothing shameful about it. What is important is to know the warning signs so you can help loved ones who are struggling:
Struggles to eat or visibly uncomfortable eating around others
Obsessive about calories, carbs, or food content
Skipping meals or always dieting
Extreme weight loss
Dizziness and weakness
Menstrual irregularities
Exercising more than normal
Injuries from over-exercising
It is also important to remember that eating disorders sometimes don’t lead to visible weight loss, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t debilitating or dangerous. If you suspect you or a loved one may be suffering from an eating disorder, talk to a trusted adult and check out Nationaleatingdisorders.org for resources and next steps.
