Eating Disorders And Male Athletes

Studies have shown that male athletes are far more prone to developing eating disorders than non-athlete people. In addition to all the other physical factors, athletes face additional pressures related to performance and, for some, aesthetic demands. For some athletes, such as sprinters, distance runners and swimmers, low body weight is thought to bestow a competitive advantage. On the other hand, the participant in sports where a subjective judging element is involved, such as diving, gymnastics, skating and dancing may feel that their body weight and size will influence their score.

Athletes, specially the male athletes often have heightened body awareness, making them more prone to body image concerns. And certain sports where body weight categories are involved, such as rowing and wrestling, can lead to cycles of weight gain followed by sudden weight loss. Finally, compulsiveness, perfectionism and high achievement expectations are personality traits thought to be advantageous for the competitive athlete; however these very athletic traits are commonly associated with the development of an eating disorder. Thus, as might be expected, the highest occurrence of eating disorders is in female athletes competing in sports where leanness and/or a specific body weight are considered important for either performance or appearance. Males athletes also suffer from eating disorders, but at a lesser rate, the estimated proportion is one male for every 10 females.

Several risk factors of eating disorders were identified. Strict dieting at an early period appeared to be related with the onset of an eating disorder. A significant number of male athletes who began dieting to improve performance reported that their coach recommended they lose body weight. For young and impressionable male athletes, such a recommendation may be perceived as a requirement for better performance. Other researchers have reported a similar eating disorder for example, finding that 75 per cent of female gymnasts who were told by coaches that they were too heavy used unhealthy body weight control measures.

The results of the studies also suggested that the risk for eating disorders is increased if dieting is unsupervised. Male athletes with eating disorders may not seek command for fear their disorder will be discovered. In addition, many male athletes have little knowledge about proper body weight loss methods of their body and receive their information in haphazard ways, from health magazine, friends, crash diets, and so on. Such crash diets are unlikely to account for the high energy requirements resulting from athletic training, or the fact that maturing females have special nutritional requirements.

Unsuitable crash diets may appeal to male athletes if they feel that rapid weight loss is necessary to make the team or to remain competitive. Finally, the restrictive diet plans and fluctuations in body weight that accompany these efforts may also increase risk for eating disorders. Early start of sport-specific athletic training was also associated with disordered eating. A higher percentage of athletic controls than of eating-disorder male athletes participated in other sports before choosing their preferred sport. The natural body type of a male athlete usually steers the athlete to specific sports, and body type dictates in part whether the athlete will be successful.

• Emma Bullock
• 22/12/2008, 12:59 PM
• 0 Comments