Anorexia Athletica
Anorexia Athletica
In the United States today, as many as 10 million females and 1 million males are fighting a life and death battle with an eating disorder (Collins). The two most commonly known eating disorders in America are anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by extremely low body weight, distorted body image and an obsessive fear of gaining weight and bulimia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by recurrent binge eating, followed by purging. While eleven million is a startling number, eating disorders are even more prevalent among athletes, particularly those involved in types of sports that place great importance on the athlete’s weight and the need to be thin.
The reasons for this higher percentage of eating disorders among athletes in comparison to non-athletes had been explained in several studies. However, there are several conflicting models of how athletic participation might be related to eating problems (Smolak). Some studies have posited that there is no difference between anorexia in non-athletes and anorexia athletica, the common term for eating disorders frequent among athletes. While there are similar psychological factors at play in both cases, there are several unique features to athletes’ eating disorders that earn anorexia athletica a distinction from other disorders.
Some studies suggest that the link between athletics and eating problems is nothing more than a greater frequency of common problems evidenced in non-athletes. Certainly there are similarities in athletes and non-athletes suffering from eating disorders; in fact, there are many personality characteristics and attributes associated with eating problems that might also be descriptive of athletes: competitiveness, concern with performance, compulsive concern with body shape, and perfectionism (Brownell). The same competitive, perfectionist attitude that all elite athletes share can lead to distorted body image and ultimately lead to serious
In the United States today, as many as 10 million females and 1 million males are fighting a life and death battle with an eating disorder (Collins). The two most commonly known eating disorders in America are anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by extremely low body weight, distorted body image and an obsessive fear of gaining weight and bulimia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by recurrent binge eating, followed by purging. While eleven million is a startling number, eating disorders are even more prevalent among athletes, particularly those involved in types of sports that place great importance on the athlete’s weight and the need to be thin.
The reasons for this higher percentage of eating disorders among athletes in comparison to non-athletes had been explained in several studies. However, there are several conflicting models of how athletic participation might be related to eating problems (Smolak). Some studies have posited that there is no difference between anorexia in non-athletes and anorexia athletica, the common term for eating disorders frequent among athletes. While there are similar psychological factors at play in both cases, there are several unique features to athletes’ eating disorders that earn anorexia athletica a distinction from other disorders.
Some studies suggest that the link between athletics and eating problems is nothing more than a greater frequency of common problems evidenced in non-athletes. Certainly there are similarities in athletes and non-athletes suffering from eating disorders; in fact, there are many personality characteristics and attributes associated with eating problems that might also be descriptive of athletes: competitiveness, concern with performance, compulsive concern with body shape, and perfectionism (Brownell). The same competitive, perfectionist attitude that all elite athletes share can lead to distorted body image and ultimately lead to serious
Cited: "“Athletes and Eating Disorders." 2001.Web. Mirror-Mirror.org. . "Athletes with Eating Disorders." 2001.Web. ANRED. . Bachner-Melman, Rachel. "How Anorexic-Like are the Symptom and Personality Profiles of Aesthetic Athletes?" Medicine and science in sports and exercise 38.4 (2006): 628. Web. Collins, M. E. "Body Figure Perceptions and Preferences among Pre-Adolescent Children." International Journal of Eating Disorders (1991): 199-208. Print. Smolak, Linda, Sarah K. Murnen, and Anne E. Ruble. "Female Athletes and Eating Problems: A Meta-Analysis." International Journal of Eating Disorders 27.4 (2000): 371-80. Print. Smolak, Linda. "National Eating Disorders Association/Next Door Neighbors Puppet Guide Book." (1996)Print. Sudi, K. "Anorexia Athletica." Nutrition 20.7-8 (2004): 657. Web. Sundgot-Borgen, J. "Prevalence of Eating Disorders in Elite Female Athletes." International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 3.1 (1993): 29. Web.