Eating Disorders in Female Athletes
It has only been within the last fifty years, with the passing of Title IX, that women and girls have even had the option to play sports in school, let alone professionally. Therefore, we are still learning about the social, physical, and mental factors that can impact a female athlete. One pressing issue that has recently come to light is the prevalence of eating disorders among female athletes.
Table of Content:
Eating disorders typically cause individuals to feel overwhelmed with thoughts about food, body image, and eating. The three most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder.
What is Anorexia Nervosa?
Anorexia nervosa, most commonly referred to as anorexia, is characterized by the restriction of one’s food intake. Typically, someone will showcase an intense fear around weight gain as well. These behaviors may cause weight loss, social isolation, fatigue, or dizziness.
What is Bulimia Nervosa?
Bulimia nervosa, also known as bulimia, is characterized by a series of binge-eating and purging. This person may consume a big meal and induce vomiting or abuse laxatives in order to avoid gaining calories from the food they’ve eaten. People with bulimia may also demonstrate strict dieting expectations for themselves and have a strict exercise ritual.
What is Binge-Eating Disorder?
Someone with binge-eating disorder will typically engage in binges of large quantities of food without feeling full or thinking about how much they are consuming. This person will likely struggle to stop eating and may feel like they are not in control of themselves when they are around food. A person struggling with binge-eating disorder may also eat alone regularly due to extreme guilt or stress around eating.
Why are Female Athletes at Risk?
Body Image Pressure
Women all over the world face high levels of scrutiny over their appearance. Many women are taught to fear aging and changes to their body shape or size—creating entire cosmetic industries that rely on women feeling this way. While there has been some improvement in the past decade, women are still largely faced with the pressure to conform to unrealistic beauty standards that may only be achievable through surgery or photo editing.
Female athletes face the additional pressure of conforming to the body shape and size typical of the top athletes within their sport. For example, a ballerina who naturally has a more muscular build, compared to teammates and famous ballerinas who are known to be “willowy,” may feel the need to make herself smaller to fit in with the people around her and the athletes she looks up to. In addition, it is well-known that uniforms for female athletes tend to be significantly more revealing than the uniforms for male athletes. The pressure of having your body feel exposed can lead to insecurities among female athletes.
Scheduling
Female athletes may find it challenging to find time to eat meals and snacks due to their busy schedules. Taking care of themselves by eating three meals a day, getting enough sleep, and having time to rest may be difficult to prioritize. This can make them more vulnerable to developing an eating disorder because neglecting our natural needs makes it harder for us to see ourselves as important and valuable.
Female athletes may also struggle with eating habits due to the number of calories they lose regularly. It can become difficult to keep up with your nutrition when you’re working out for multiple hours every single day. For this reason, female athletes may become vulnerable to undereating unintentionally. What started as unintentional could grow into a habit, especially if the individual begins to receive compliments about losing weight, which could trigger ongoing thoughts about body image.
Identity Associated with Being an Athlete
Athletes are also subjected to a uniquely difficult challenge because their professions and hobbies, perhaps even their financial means, are reliant on their bodies; being an athlete may become their most present identity marker. This poses distinct challenges because it can be hard to separate oneself from one’s ability to perform in a very specific way. This can leave them feeling like their body is a necessary part of their contribution to the world and their ability to feel like themselves.
Why is This Behavior Harmful?
It is important to nourish and care for your body throughout your entire life. You deserve to eat as a way to fuel your body and as a way to experience joy. Female athletes are often losing many calories each day, and, if that is combined with undereating, they may be prone to injuries, dizzy spells, loss of menstrual cycle, disrupted sleep patterns, muscle weakness, dehydration, and many other physical and mental health concerns.
How to Talk About Your Concerns with a Loved One
Try to see where they’re coming from.
It can be difficult to step into someone else’s shoes when you know they’re doing something threatening their safety; however, challenging yourself to understand their perspective will help create a more open dialogue around eating habits. Think about the pressure your loved one is feeling to fit in with social expectations, how their body image may be heavily tied to their athletic identity, and how difficult it is to be honest about struggles with body image and eating. Think about how the desire to have a smaller body may feel intrinsically linked to their desire to become a better, stronger athlete. Check in about the messaging that coaches, teammates, and sports media are all presenting to the athlete in your life. Whatever their unique context is, acknowledging where this person is coming from will help them view you as a safe person to turn to in times of need.
Maintain a non-judgmental attitude.
Try to be careful with how your words, actions, and tone come across in this conversation. Ask questions from a curious lens, rather than an accusing one. For example, asking someone, “How long have you been feeling this way?” in a gentle tone lets them know that you want more information because you care for them, rather than making them feel like you are judging them for feeling this way. The person you are talking to may get defensive no matter how gentle and kind you are, but if this happens, it is important that you stay present and grounded. You might try taking a few deep breaths before responding, as this will help you maintain a non-judgmental demeanor.
Ask them if they want help.
It may be a good idea to offer some suggestions about what help could look like. You could offer to eat with this person as a source of comfort when eating becomes difficult. You may also offer to help them find resources for people struggling with eating disorders. Lastly, you could offer to help them talk about their eating disorder with other important figures in their life, such as parents, coaches, or counselors.
Model a healthy relationship with food and body image.
When you’re around this person, avoid any self-deprecating comments about your own body, weight, or how much you’re eating. Even some common phrases or jokes (i.e. “I earned dessert today because I went on the treadmill,” or “I’m going to be bad today and get a side of fries.”) can be harmful to people struggling with their body image. Try not to give moral value to food. Instead, you might try referring to food as fuel (i.e. “I’m glad to have some protein to keep my energy levels high.”). This comment does not assign moral value to food but rather explores the benefit of including that food group in one’s diet.
How to Seek Support For Yourself
If you are struggling with your relationship with eating, know that you aren’t alone. We’re here to help you navigate your feelings, concerns, and desires. Specifically, eating disorder counseling is available to help you explore a healthier relationship with food and body image. Trust Mental Health has a diverse team of therapists that offer eating disorder counseling in California. Contact us today for a free 15-minute consultation.
Key Points
The three most common eating disorders are anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder.
Female athletes are at risk for developing eating disorders due to social pressure, busy schedules, identity challenges, and body image challenges.
If you are concerned about a loved one’s relationship with food or body image, it is important to speak with them about it in an open, non-judgmental tone.
FAQs
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You may have an eating disorder if you find yourself ruminating on the food you eat each day, exercising excessively, regularly and intentionally restricting your food intake, purging after a meal, eating large quantities of food alone, or being preoccupied with thoughts about your body or weight. If this sounds like you, it may be helpful to check in with a mental health therapist at Trust Mental Health.
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Being open and vulnerable with loved ones can be challenging. Therapists at Trust Mental Health are here to guide you through this conversation. We offer therapy in sixteen different languages and will match you with someone sensitive to any cultural, religious, or lingual barriers that may come up during this conversation.
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Trust Mental Health has a team of therapists who are equipped to help you treat your eating disorder. Your therapist will develop a treatment plan, in coordination with your care team, to ensure that you are on the path to sustainable recovery.