The Role Of Eating Disorders In Organized Sports

Athletes are among the quickest, strongest, and most flexible people in the world –everyone expects them to be healthy. However, many believe that fit equals less fat and lower weight levels. Involvement in organized sports offers many benefits, including improved self-esteem and body image, and encouragement for individuals to remain active. However, athletic competition can be a contributing factor to severe psychological and physical stress. When the pressures of competitions, added to an emphasis on thinness, the risks increase for athletes to develop anorexia nervosa (Thompson). In a study of Division 1 NCAA athletes, over one-third of female athletes reported attitudes and symptoms related to anorexia nervosa (Athletes and Eating Disorders).

The main ones include gymnastics, figure skating, diving, running etc. Female athletes believe that they are being "good" when restricting food and in return, their performance will improve (ANRED). They connect weight loss with becoming quicker, faster, and stronger. Research shows the opposite (ANRED). However, female athletes still refuse to believe that dieting could decrease their performance potential.

In 1994, a near Olympic gymnast named Christy Henrich died at the age of twenty-two from a severe case of anorexia (Pace). Her body underwent months of self-starvation and destruction, which eventually led to multiple organ failure (Pace). When Henrich passed away, she was only sixty-one pounds, an improvement to the previous forty-seven (Pace). Since then multiple research and case studies have been done to see if there is a link and if so how to stop it

In many cases, athletes are under more pressure from people such as coaches and peers in conjunction with family members than the actual sport itself. Which is a major contributing factor in the development of the disease. Studies show that athletes, who did not have as much pressure on them to win, had a better performance and attitude (Lesek).They did not undergo the constant badgering to stay thin and fit a definition of what is expected.

Many athletes without eating disorders often have confidence in everything they do (Lesek). Which results in them feeling as if their lives are not spiraling out, needing a sense of self-control (Lesek). However, often coaches reinforce thinness with derogatory comments about performance and negative body image, contributing to low self-esteem.The remarks often galvanize the athlete to strive for perfection and control by restricting