Essay On Female Athlete Triad

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.

The term disordered eating includes a range of definitions, including a spectrum of abnormal eating behaviors that range from mild restricting behaviors and occasional binging and purging. “According to a 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey, 34 percent of adolescent females were likely to consider themselves ‘too fat’ and, therefore, limited their dietary intake” (Ramos & Welch). This survey was held in 199...

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... a load of pressure put on them by society to maintain a slimming and lean figure. It is a way for them to make a statement saying that the smaller they are, the better they are at that certain activity or sport. Developing one of the disorders in the Female Athlete Triad, will soon lead to the others; the disorders are all intermingled and relate to each other. By decreasing their intake of calories and increasing their amount of exercise, an eating disorder can develop. By developing the eating disorder, the estrogen levels decrease thus increasing their chances of amenorrhea. If they then have amenorrhea, osteoporosis can also develop due to the lack of hormones and the lack of calcium in-take. Early identification and educating the athletes, coaches, and parents are the only way to prevent the Female Athlete Triad from arising and causing future health problems.