National Eating Disorder Hotline:
Tel: 800-931-2237
Sport
Factors
The most common factors for female athletes to develop an eating disorder is having the belief that lower body weight will improve performance, training for a sport since childhood, being an elite athlete, family dysfunction, or coaches who focus on success rather than the health of the athlete. “Finally, eating disorder symptoms (such as dieting, weight loss and excessive training) may be misperceived as "normal" or even desirable in the sports environment, and personality characteristics/behaviors similar to those of eating disorder patients (such as perfectionism and excessive training) may be misperceived as "good athlete" traits” (Thompson, 2017). High school athletes are more prone to developing an eating disorder because there is an absolute pressure of performance level and how it should be achieved in certain sports. “Eating disorders occur in all sports, but not equally in all sports. As in society, eating disorders in sport occur more frequently in females than males" (Thompson, 2017). Eating disorders are more common in sports that put a high emphasis on weight and performance because, psychologically, weight and performance are linked.
Aesthetic Sports
Swimming ​ Figure Skating Bodybuilding
Running ​ Gymnastics Diving Dance
Sports in the endurance category such as running and swimming are sports that have leanness and performance-linked. Sports that put emphasis and pressure on body image are also at risk. These sports include gymnastics, high board diving, and more. "...One area in which research findings are more definitive is for "lean" sports, which thin/lean body or low weight is believed to provide a biomechanical advantage in performance or in the judging of performance. Women in these sports are considered to be at the highest risk” (Thompson, 2017).
Weight Class Sports
Wrestling Rowing Horseback Riding
Sports in the weight category, such as wrestling and lightweight rowing also contribute to the development of an eating disorder. In these types of sports, if one’s weight is not within limits, they cannot compete. This calls for constant weighing of one’s self which is not healthy for high schoolers and can lead to the development of an eating disorder. These sports are highly competitive in the weight category and focus obsessively on weight.
The most common sports that have eating disorders are ones that emphasize appearance, weight requirements, or muscularity such as gymnastics, diving, bodybuilding, or wrestling. A sport that focuses on the individual rather than the entire team such as gymnastics, running, figure skating, dance, or diving, versus teams sports such as basketball or soccer are more prone to eating disorders. “The relationship between body image and body dissatisfaction in female student-athletes is more conflicted and confused than in the general population. Women who play sports can have two body images – one within the sport and one outside of sport, and disordered eating or an eating disorder can occur in either context or both. Additionally, some female student-athletes are conflicted about having a muscular body that facilitates sports performance but may not conform to the socially desired body type. It may be perceived as being too muscular when compared to societal norms regarding femininity” (Thompson, 2017).
