Sports such as gymnastics, dance, and figure skating have a higher percentage of athletes with eating disorders than other sports, such as basketball, field hockey and skiing. A 1992 study by the American College of Sports Medicine shows that 62% of females in gymnastics and figure skating suffered eating disorders. Such athletes fall victim to the disease in attempt to please judges and their coaches.
What is the use of such starvation? Ever since 85-pound Olga Korbut captivated audiences at the 1972 Olympics with her pigtails and small, flexible body, the sport has been favoring tiny girls. Having a small shape is important in figure skating as well. The weight added by breasts and hips slow the spins, lessen the height of jumps and obstruct the lean body lines the judges reward. Female ballet dancers often need to be lifted by a male partner in classical ballets, and the lighter dancers are more frequently rewarded with such tasks in the classical pas de deux than their heavier colleagues.
Athletes all over the world are racing against their biological clock, trying to keep their bodies from going through their natural maturing process by way of incessant workouts and reckless dieting. In starving off puberty, athletes are able to maintain the "ideal" body type. The starving body, knowing� there is no way it can support a fetus, blocks the onset of puberty. If a girl isn't menstruating, she isn't producing estrogen so her bones begin to weaken. This risks fractures in every bone. Athletes with eating disorders are also at a higher risk for medical complications, including cardiac arrhythmias and electrolyte imbalances in the brain. Since the strenuous physical activity already puts a lot of pressure on the body, an eating disorder can put them at great risk for sudden death from cardiac arrest. It is usually difficult to convince athletes that they are in need of help because they usually believe that they will become a better athlete, and perform better, if they lose more weight. Such was the case of Christy Henrich, one of the world's top gymnasts in the 1980s. He body was so weakened by lack of nutrients that it resulted in her retirement from the sport. But even though she was no longer doing gymnastics anymore, she was still not eating. Henrich died on July 26th, 1994 of multiple organ failure. She was twenty-two years old and weighed 47 pounds.
In females, eating disorders can deplete estrogen. Without this hormone the body cannot absorb calcium, which can lead to stress fractures, breaks, and other detrimental injuries. Another problem is that the lack of estrogen can lead to thicker, darker hair growing on the face, back and arms-- especially embarrassing to gymnasts and dancers, whose bodies are often exposed when wearing leotards. USA Gymnastics and other sports officials stress that sports themselves do not cause eating disorders. However, combining the over-achiever personality of the elite or advanced athlete and the pressure from parents and coaches, such sports are a breeding ground for a potentially deadly psychological disease.
Sources:
Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters (Joan Ryan, Time Warner Publishing)
Athletes and Eating Disorders
EDancing-- Eating Disorders in Dance.
