From the May 1996 Roller Skating Coach
The Female Athlete Triad Michael Bluhim, USOC Coaching Division |
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When athletes walk into the gym, dive into the pool or run onto the field, they expose themselves to the possibility of injury or defeat. While getting hurt or losing can be painful, far more dangerous is the risk of eating disorders, especially for female athletes. Coaches, trainers and female athletes should be proactive in addressing disordered eating and its associated problems, which form a newly- defined malady called the female athlete triad. Dr. Aurelia Nattiv, a physician at UCLA , defined the female athlete triad at a recent High performance Summit for Olympic coaches of women's team sports. Disordered eating is at the top of the triad, which also includes amenorrhea (the cessation of menstruation) and osteoporosis (the deterioration of bone). Eating disorders can be the chief causes of amenorrhea and osteoporosis, and therefore are emphasized whenever discussing the triad. Being thin can be an asset in "presentation" sports such as gymnastics and synchronized swimming, where appearance affects results. Unfortunately, female athletes may overemphasize the importance of body weight and too often, use methods to achieve thinness involving anorexia nervosa or bulimia, the primary eating disorders. |
EATING DISORDERS Anorexia nervosa, which affects one to three percent of the entire female population, revolves around the fear of eating. Most females afflicted weight at least 15% below their normal body weight, have a morbid fear of fatness and feel fat despite being thin. Three to five percent of all women are bulimic. Bulimic is defined as binge eating at least twice a week for three or more consecutive months and usually involve the patient experiencing a loss of control while eating. While the numbers may seem small, they represent millions of females of all ages and occupations. Though data isn't complete, Nattiv points to studies that show the prevalence of eating disorders among females in certain sports:
32% of 182 college athletes 15% of 487 swimmers between the ages of 9 and 18 Why are percentages for athletes so much higher than those for the general female population? Strict weight standards must be met in some sports and appearance in other subjectively-judged sports is important to ensure high scores. Some athletes, particularly those who struggle to succeed in their sport, experience low self-esteem and have poor body images. When female athletes are being compared with one another, there is tremendous competition to be the best-looking and most fit. A particularly disturbing statistic is that 10-18 percent of people who suffer from eating disorders die from medical problems, or as a result of psychological complications that lead to suicide. Also of concern are amenorrhea and osteoporosis, both of which result from disordered eating. |
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