Athletes and Eating Disorders
It's not only female athletes, who find themselves battling eating disorders. It's well known in the sports community, that male wrestlers, cross country runners and jockeys turn to diuretics, laxatives and vomitting, in an unhealthy attempt to maintain a low, lean weight or to meet a specific weight by a specific date and time. In 1997 the sports world was stunned by the deaths of three college wrestlers who died in their desperate attempts to reach a required weight for competition. As a result of the three deaths, which happened in the U.S. withing weeks of each other, the NCAA was deluged with requests to institute rules prohibiting or regulating such drastic and dangerous methods of weight loss. The NCAA responded by essentially saying that perhaps the rules could be changed, but not ethics. So, it's really up to the coaches and wrestlers to regulate themselves. Read more about wrestlers and their dangerous weight loss techniques at Weight Loss can Threaten Wrestlers.
During the local horse-racing season last year, I was amazed to see a news story about jockey's, which casually showed a bathroom stall in the jockey dressing room, which was designated specifically for vomitting. It had a neatly printed sign on the door which read "HEAVERS". It seems vomitting, laxatives and other unhealthy weight loss habits, are accepted if not excepted in the horse-racing world. I also remember reading an article, in which a famous and well known jockey was explaining the strict eating habits he follows to maintain his lean form. He mentioned eating two or three peanuts for lunch, and abusing prescription diuretics. Oddly enough, the article was very complimentary of this jockey and praised his ability to maintain such an unreasonably low weight. I don't have any links about this for you to read, but I thought you might find it as interesting (and unbelievable) as I did.
Coaches and trainers may play a key role in preventing eating disorders, and helping athletes who have them. Coaches need to provide their athletes with accurate information about weight, healthy weight, body mass and nutrition. They also need to point out the dangers of unhealthy weight loss, and de-emphasize weight concerns by *not* weighing their athletes and *not* making comments about weight. Read more about Things a Coach Can Do.
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