Professor S. Perez
TSEM: Body Image
3 May 2015
Eating Disorders and the Female Athlete Triad
It is estimated that approximately 10 million females in the United States struggle on a day to day basis with an eating disorder (Eating Disorder Statistics & Research). Of those 10 million, female athletes have a 20% higher risk of developing an eating disorder. According to the ANAD, female athletes who participate in aesthetic sports such as gymnastics, figure skating, and cross country, are at the highest risk. There are a variety of eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating. Out of those three, anorexia and bulimia have the highest prevalence in females at about 4% that have or do struggle with these disorders …show more content…
Female athletes are more likely to develop an eating disorder due to the importance of sport-specific trained body types that improve athleticism, often leading to the female athlete triad.
Female athletes are more likely to develop an eating disorder compared to non-athletes. The most common eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is can be recognized when a person weighs themselves frequently and portions food carefully. Symptoms include extreme thinness, intense fear of gaining weight, and distorted body image. Bulimia is a disorder in which a person constantly has occurrences of consuming unusually large portions of food followed by forced vomiting, excessive use of laxatives, excessive exercise, of fasting. Symptoms include chronic sore throat, severe dehydration, and worn tooth enamel (Eating Disorders). In a study done by Cherilyn McLester, she and her colleagues determined the susceptibility of female athletes to eating disorders by having 439 female athletes participate in a questionnaire. The questionnaire included the three sections consisted of an eating disorder inventory, the Rosenberg Self Esteem …show more content…
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