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Anorexia and Female Athletes, Part I

© Mark Stuart Ellison

Most sports are great for kids. There's camaraderie, discipline, and commitment to physical conditioning that can last a lifetime. But sometimes they can become an obsession leading to anorexia nervosa.

According to ANRED , "eating disorders are significant problems in the worlds of ballet and other dance, figure skating, gymnastics, running, swimming, rowing, horse racing, and riding."ANRED cited an NCAA study indicating that 93 percent of sports-related eating disorders afflict women. According to the study, the sports with the highest proportion of victims, in descending order, are: women's cross country, women's gymnastics, women's swimming, and women's track and field. News Channel 9, WTVC in Chattanooga, Tennessee, reported that eating disorders affect an estimated 15 to 62 percent of all female athletes.

According to ANRED, female competitors are at heightened risk to develop eating disorders. Not only are they subject to cultural pressures to lose weight, the sports that they engage in often convey the message that you must be thin to win.

By contrast, ANRED noted that men are usually encouraged to be large and powerful. In addition, there are important biological differences between the sexes. According to ANRED, women tend to put on weight more easily than men and have a harder time losing it.

ANRED noted that it is very easy for an anorexic athlete to hide her disorder. The organization's website stated that "she may even receive praise and admiration for her self-control and denial of appetite." According to ANRED, some coaches and others foster the notion that thinness improves performance, but research indicates that excessive dieting makes the athlete "weak and slow".

As in all cases of anorexia nervosa, said ANRED, control is a paramount issue. The anorexic feels out of control. Weight is one thing she can control, and in the case of the athlete, she can control her performance. Thus the drive to excel and win praise.

ANRED emphasized the need for coaches to be actively involved in the treatment of eating disordered athletes. The coach should be informed of food, weight requirements, and restrictions on physical activity while the athlete is in treatment. Otherwise, he or she may sabotage progress.

In high school and college competitive sports, goals create many pressures: scholarships, championships, and, at the more advanced levels, a chance of making it to the "pros". In extreme cases, medical treatment can require the athlete to stop training for an extended period. In this regard, it is crucial, ANRED observed, that the coach and medical providers work as a team.

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