We live in a world where the media makes us believe that looking good is important, especially for women. Young women today, are caught up in their body image and some of them turn to eating disorders because they think it will help them get the body that “perfect” in the eye of the public. According to the findings of Reinkin and Alexander (2005), the number of female college athletes from 1971 to 2000 increased by more than 500% (Reinkin & Alexander, 2005). Female athletes are more prone to eating disorders than men because, they are expected to look a certain way and look attractive. In the research of Greenleaf, Petrie, Carter and Reel (2009) it states: The sports environment can heighten body-and-weight-related concerns because of factors such as pressure from coaches, social comparison with teammates, team weigh-ins, performance demands, physique-revealing uniforms and judging criteria. (p. 489) A woman suffering from eating disorders is a very sad thing, but the fact that some female collegiate athletes are suffering from eating disorders not only puts themselves at danger but the good of their team, their athletic department and their university/college. The purpose of this paper to examine female athletes decisions to turn to eating disorders in order to maintain this “perfect figure” that they think is the ideal body they should possess. The thought of eating disorders reminded me of when we learned about violence and deviance in sport. People with eating disorders are seeking to feel accepted within the public. Spitting up food in order to have a nice looking body is against the social norms. Not only are eating disorders against the social norms, but also they are seen a self-destructive behavior. In the world we liv... ... middle of paper ... ... cross country), non-lean sport athletes (basketball, softball, soccer) and nonathletes (Reinking and Alexander, 2005). According to the results athletes who participate in lean sports had a higher dissatisfaction rating than to those athletes who participate in non-lean athletes; also another interesting statistic showed the nonathletes were showed greater dissatisfaction compared to the nonathletes that participated in the study (2005). Since female athletes are used to having their bodies on display during their sport competitions and such, they’ve grown accustomed to being comfortable in their bodies. Regardless if they are an athlete or not, women (according to the research) want to look skinner than they usually do and they think other than exercising and dieting, food disorders such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa will get them to the body they so desire.
However, these views don’t take social process into consideration. Therefore, they organized a self-help group for bulimics and anorexics known as BANISH in order to determine what societal aspects cause these disorders. The author’s group consisted mostly of college age females which is significant because this is group primarily affected by these disorders. Interestingly, the backgrounds of the women in the BANISH group are strikingly similar in that they are excellent students, good children who have very close parental relationships, from “functional” families - all having been brought up with an emphasis on thin physical appearance. The authors also allude to the fact that in today’s society, slimness is considered attractive and most worthy, while being overweight is viewed as both morally and physically wrong. Society labels heavy people as “lazy, obscene, and unhealthy”. (244) It is noted that when members of the group lost weight, they reported feeling more accepted and
In non-athletes it is need to be accepted into the distorted view of the society. For both athlete and non-athlete they want a body image that they see is perfect in their eyes. In a recent study they tested 562 women and 883 men out of that total there were both athletes and non-athletes. Towards the end the results revealed that “the scores of the athletes revealed less disordered eating symptomology and healthier psychological functioning than the score of non-athletes.” (Mark F. Reinking, Laura E. Alexander). Risk Factors contributing to eating disorders in both athletic and non-athletic woman include social
According to the Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review’s article on the female athlete triad, in the past forty years, American women have become increasingly involved in athletics as a result of laws allowing them to participate in sports. (Lebrun and Rumball) For instance, Cathy Rigby won eight Olympic gold medals in gymnastics during the ‘60’s and 70’s when these laws were just coming into effect. (Brunet) Nevertheless, there is an ugly hidden underbelly to the many benefits of women’s increased participation in sports. Many sports have very high standards for body image, which has led to the increasing prevalence of three “separate… but interrelated conditions” collectively known as the female athlete triad. (Lebrun and Rumball) Despite Cathy Rigby’s aforementioned success, an article by Dr. Michael Brunet reveals that she was severely affected by the most well-known of the female athlete triad: the eating disorder. This eventually caused her to suffer cardiac arrest twice. (Brunet) These effects are not limited to elite athletes, however; high school athletes are also affected by the triad, particularly those participating in sports “in which leanness is perceived to optimize performance” or which use “specific weight categories.” (Lebrun) The three components of the triad, osteoporosis, amenorrhea, and disordered eating, are increasingly becoming an unfortunate effect of distorted body image on sports.
All types of people are affected by eating disorders. However, the highest percentages of people that obtain some form of eating disorder classify themselves as dancers. Eating disorders in dancers are commonly formed by rigorous programs, cruel teachers and choreographers, and the unreachable images and physical expectations that are established by society. Not only do eating disorders dismantle the body and destroy its health, they can also lead to the transform of a stable mind into an irrational one that believes its actions are acceptable and rational. Mental instability does not only affect choices and decisions, but can put the victim at severe risk. There is more to an eating disorder than what people think; sacrificing a healthy body
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Researchers and doctors find eating disorders to be very complicated to figure out due to the many different factors leading to eating disorders. The majority of these issues derive from media images portraying the “perfect” bodies bringing people to believe that they need to change their eating habits to become that “perfect” image. On average, people waste around 31 hours a week on the internet and spend anywhere from two to four hours a day looking up cosmetic surgery procedures and investigating dietary and weight loss plans in an attempt to get that model worthy body (The Telegraph). Men and women should be proud of whom they are and not be envious of others so much as to want to change their entire appearance; God made us all perfect through his eyes; why would anyone want to change that uniqueness about them?
Eating disorders are described as an illness involving eating habits that are irregular and an extreme concern with body image or weight. Eating disorders tend to appear during teenage years, but can develop at any age. Although more common in women, eating disorders can affect any age, gender or race. In the United States, over 20 million women and 10 million men are personally affected by eating disorders. There are many different causes of eating disorders such as low self esteem, societal pressures, sexual abuse and the victims perception of food. Eating disorders are unique to the sufferer and often, their perception of themselves is so skewed, they may not be aware they have an eating disorder. Media, for quite some time now, has played a significant part in eating disorders. Magazines with headlines ‘Summer Body’, or ‘Drop LB’s Fast!’ attract the attention of girls who may be insecure with themselves. Television productions such as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or American’s Next Top Model, show airbrushed and photoshopped women who have body types that may be unachievable. Those who are suffering from eating disorders can suffer dangerous consequences, and it is important to seek help.
There are two main eating disorders that are found in the sporting world. The first is anorexia nervousa. This is a disease its which an individual becomes obsessed with weight loss and the food the ingest (Anorexia Nervousa, 2007). Individuals start to associate thinness with self worth. The develop a distorted sense of what is thin. To the average person, someone not having the disease, they may look as though they are at a healthy weight but to the individual with the disease they appear to look over weight. In order to promote we...
The female athlete triad consists of three parts; disordered eating i.e. anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. “Originally termed ‘female athlete triad,’ the name was derived at a meeting led by members of the American College of Sports Medicine in the early 1990s” (Kazis & Iglesias). The meeting was held due to an alarming increase in stress fracture rates, decrease in bone mineral density, and menstrual dysfunction. In 1972, the passage of Title IX was passed that mandated equal athletic opportunities for men and women. Since then, there has been a record high of almost 2 million female athletes participating in high school and college level sports. With the increase of female athletes, there is also an increase of competition whether it is to be the fastest, strongest, or skinniest. Athletes either at a collegiate level or an elite level, have unrealistic expectations placed on them to maintain a low body weight. Pressure to attain a perfect body can come from all different outside forces, such as: coaches, teammates, parents, siblings, and the athlete herself. The obsession to achieve this goal can lead to other health-relating problems such weakening bone density which will lead to stress fractures and irregular menstruations which can possibly lead to fertility issues in the future.
Long slender legs, slim figure and size zero hips , that stunning runway model on America’s Next Top Model is the motivation for staying in shape. Appallingly, this motivation is the primary cause of life threatening eating disorders in our young women today. According to a research, 95 % of those suffering from eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25, the primary audience of Fashion modeling television shows. 70% of girls from grades 5 to 12 say magazine images of fashion models influence their ideals of perfect body. Fashion Modeling Industry has been the most influential source in our young women’s lives. Young girls and young women are seen eating as little as they can, even starving themselves at times to stay fit. Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic said exposure to thin models is a great trigger in maintaining an eating disorder. When watching America’s Next Top Model or flipping through a Fashion magazine, these young women don’t apprehend that those models are either naturally slim or are suffering from an eating disorder themselves. Our young women are growing up in a society where they are not comfortable to eat what they crave without regret. To worsen the situation, Victoria Secret models pose in their bikinis in advertisements, building up guilt in young minds. The fashion modeling industry is a leading contributing factor to the increasing number of eating disorders in young females today. Fashion modeling industry is the main source which exposes underweight models on runways and advertisements. Rather than sending the positive message beauty is health, the industry is giving out negative directives to its audience. It is influencing them to believe that being size zero is the only de...
Women compose the overwhelming majority of the reported cases of eating disorders. The, desire to be thin consumes many young women who idealize the false and unrealistic model form depicted in popular magazines. Recently, researchers have started to appreciate the role of exercise in the development of eating disorders. This shift has illuminated the striking influence of sports on body image satisfaction in men as well as women. The importance of a fit physique has grown increasingly salient to men in modem society as indicated by the rise of hypermasculine action heroes such as Arnold Schwartzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. One growing sport, bodybuilding, now has the sixth largest sports federation and has come to the attention of researchers. In the last few years, researchers have linked bodybuilding to an overwhelming drive for lean muscle mass coined "reverse anorexia" by Pope, Katz, and Hudson (1993) and "bigameraria" by Taylor(1985). The bodybuilders' obsessional behavior resembles anorexia nervosa with remarkable similarity except that the drive for enormous muscles replaces the drive for thinness. This alarming psychological syndrome may motivate bodybuilders and weightlifters, to a lesser extent, to relinquish friends, to give up responsibilities, to pursue unusual diets, to overtrain and to risk their health by abusing steroids.
Women are taught, “the thinner the women, the better the women." This statement accurately describes the way our society perceives weight. Models are a definite causes of anorexia in women. Women admire models because of their physical appearance. The average fashion model weighs 23 percent less than the average women (Lovettt). Today, the average models are in the range of weight that will make them anorexic. The average model's body size can be compared to the body size of an adolescence boy. Most models turn to anorexia when they feel like they are gaining any ounce of weight. The gym is their house; the toilet bowl is their mirror. Models will throw up the little nutrition they have eaten that day. Models will sacrifice their health to satisfy the requirements of our judgmental
The mind tends to be weak when it comes to measuring oneself. Athletes are perfect examples of this because no matter how hard the athlete may train, they will always want to improve their minds and bodies in order to be number one in their sport. I learned that eating disorders don’t discriminate against gender, race or sexual orientations, therefore, they’re among the most dangerous mental illnesses that affect society today. These irregular eating patterns warrant concern because adolescences are the most vulnerable, and these eating disorders can lead to some very serious complications in the future.