Eating Disorders in Athletes

Participation in sports can be very beneficial to ones wellbeing, improving self-esteem and encouragement for individuals to remain active throughout their lives. However Athletic training and participation at a competitive level can have the opposite effect on some individuals, causing severe psychological and physical stress.

The majority of athletes suffering from eating disorders are female; however male athletes are also at risk, especially in sports that place emphasis on the athlete’s diet, appearance, size and weight requirements such as; wrestling, body building, running, and football.

Famous gymnasts such as Kathy Johnson, Nadia Comaneci and Cathy Rigby have all admitted their own personal battles eating disorders. Cathy Rigby in particular (who was a 1972 Olympian) battled anorexia and bulimia for 12 years. She reportedly suffered two cardiac arrests as a result of her suffering.

In some sports, athletes are judged by technical and artistic merit, they are under enormous pressure to be thin because most judges have been known to consider thinness an important factor when deciding the artistic score. For example at a meet in Budapest in 1988, a US judge told Christy Henrich (An outstanding gymnast.), that she needed to lose weight if she hoped to make the Olympic squad. For an athlete who has aspirations and is highly motivated to achieve their ‘dream’ they will often do anything to reach the top, if losing weight is the cost, so be it. Christy attempted to control her weight by resorting to anorexia and bulimia. Sadly her eating disorders eventually cost her life and at the very young age of 22, on the 26th July 1994, she died of multiple organ failure.

Causes of eating disorders in athletes

Athletes partaking in individual sports are at a greater risk of developing an eating disorder because pressures cannot be distributed among teammates. For example: gymnastics, running, ice skating, wrestling, dancing or diving versus teams sports like basketball or football.Endurance sports such as: track and field/running, swimming has a higher risk factor.

Traumatic life experiences, family dysfunction, sexual abuse or low self esteem with added competition pressures are a factor in the onset of disordered eating amongst athletes.Three influences have thought to contribute to the chances that an individual would be disapproving of their body; societies influence, athlete’s self appraisal, and performance anxiety. Coaches who focus only on winning as the only determinant of success, also focusing on performance rather than on the athlete as an individual or a whole person.

Athletes with eating disorders are usually at higher risk for medical complications due to their intense training on top of disordered eating behaviours; such as electrolyte imbalances and cardiac arrhythmias. This is because they are engaging in strenuous physical activity which in itself puts stress on the body; the pressure on the body is enhanced if it does not receive correct nutrition to maintain health. Thus having an eating disorder puts them at great risk for sudden death from cardiac arrest or organ failure.

Eating disorders in athletes is becoming more and more common. To use gymnastics as an example again (although applies to a variety of sports), the size of gymnasts has changed dramatically over the past few decades. In 1976 for example, the average gymnast was 5'3" tall and 105 lbs in weight. In 1992 the average gymnast was 4'9" tall and only 88 lbs in weight.

When pressures and the nature of competitive sports are combined with social emphasis on body image and desire for thinness, the risks actually increase for athletes to develop disordered eating (even though most would think that athletes are well educated on nutrition requirements to perform at their best).

An inaccurate belief that lower body weight will benefit performance, for example the idea that the lighter you are the easier to lift for a figure skater or dancer.Sports that emphasize weight requirements or appearance. For example; gymnastics – where thinness is desired, diving, bodybuilding or wrestling – where there is pressure for wrestlers to “make weight”, or fall into a preferred weight category. Jockeys also have a pressure on them to maintain a low body weight and are known to try and lose weight by fluid loss in saunas.

It is very difficult for anyone to admit they have an eating disorder; self denial is a common trait amongst most eating disorders. It is particularly difficult however to convince an athlete that they have a problem with food and appearance, and indeed require help. This is because they firmly believe that weight loss will enable them to become a better athlete and thus achieve success.