Body Dysmorphia Research Paper

Nearly all athletes seem to be overwhelmed by the pressure, be it from coaches, other athletes, society or parents, to achieve so-called leanness. In many sports, especially figure skating, dance and gymnastics, there is a reputation for leanness via unhealthy methods. Figure skaters live in environments where lean builds are rewarded, yet in achieving this, figure skaters often practice non-optimal eating, which can result in long term health damage (Ziegler, 2005). Eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, anorexia athletica, body dysmorphia and bulimia nervosa all plague figure skating. Body dysmorphia has been defined only recently: it is the obsession with correcting or hiding a part of the body that is thought by the patient to be “ugly”, but is actually normal (Phillips, 2004). Anorexia and bulimia can be part of body dysmorphia. The disease has been successfully treated with therapy and serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which suggests the disease is caused by lack of serotonin (part of what causes depression) (Phillips, 2004). According to the

There are stories of girls getting plastic surgery because judges find the young girl’s nose distracting (Ryan, 1995). Is it such a hard leap to the idea that figure skaters lose weight to please a judge? Figure skaters are judged harshly, both in how they preform elements and their appearance (Reel, 2013). As Ryan states of the pressure these young skaters feel, “Talent counts, but so do beauty, class, weight, clothes and politics.” This describes the way figure skaters are brought up to feel. In few sports do competitors have to have makeup on to be taken seriously - not in skiing, swimming or running. But figure skaters have to look like Cover Girls. No matter the athleticism of a figure skater, they have to be thin and graceful, which contributes to the pressure of being