I was very interested in the lecture, toward the end of the semester, that dealt with the female athlete triad. Most interesting was the part about eating disorders and disordered eating. I do not consider myself to have an eating disorder, but I know I do have some disordered eating. I was always athletic and never really thought about my weight. It was not until after high school that I gained 50 pounds. Being an athlete, I never had to work out outside of sports and I could eat whatever I wanted. Well once the sports stopped, here came the weight. It was not until I was told that I had borderline high cholesterol that I decided to start working out again and watched what I ate. I am now back to a healthy weight and still continue to eat well. Still, I can not say I am not guilty of obsessing sometimes. When asked what some of the characteristics of disordered eating are I could relate to almost all of them and could even think of other ones. Why? Because I have done them or know of them. I am not sure if it is because I know how it feels to be on both sides, and I know I like being more fit. I no longer compete, as an athlete, so I do what I do just for me. I guess I am afraid to gain that weight back. I am also afraid of being at higher risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. I would be lying if I said I did not want to feel good about my appearance, but really a lot has to do with my health. Ironically, though, some of the things associated with disordered eating are not always so healthy. I think it is a matter of personal opinion when it comes to what is important to you. Unfortunately for many athletes it is no longer about personal opinion. It is an outside opinion instilled in you and really you have not choice in the matter. Either be this way or be no way and go nowhere.
-Dennise Gallegos
KIN 338I, section 6
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I have also always been interested in eating disorders. Some studies show that female athletes have higher chances of having eating disorders than non-athletes. This can be because athletes are more aware of how their bodies look and how they react while playing sports. Athletes may get more judgments on their bodies as well. People believe that athletes are supposed to look a certain way.
Other studies show that non-athletes have greater risk of developing eating disorders. This can be because they are less confident about their bodies.
In general I believe that being an athlete does not have an affect on developing eating disorders. It just depends on the specific person and their self confidence.
-Shannon Swindell
I have played sports since I was five years old. Never have I associated eating disorders with sports. Taking KIN338 challenged my assumption and opened my eyes to the other side of the female athlete triad. Yes, sports such as swimming and gymnastics show that there are high rates of eating disorders. Yet I too feel that in general female athletes prove to hold higher self esteem, confidence, and no depression. Since highschool I have stopped playing sports as much, and also feel the need to watch what I eat from time to time. The media and common society are to blame for girls and eating disorders. From magazines, to TV shows, we are pushed everyday to look a certain way.
I agree with Shannon, each women is her own; it is up to her whether she is sucked into the norm of looking like "barbie" and uses eating disorders to achieve her goal. Or to look in the mirror and accept her for her.
K Gorrell
- KIN338 section 3201
I think that the eating disorder topic towards female athletes is very complicated. I feel that it can go both ways in the sense that athletes do have higher self esteem, they want to be healthy, and due to all the physical exercise we do eat a lot more than the average female. Also when they are in a team women feel empowered because they are trying to brake gender binaries and also stereotypes. I agree that it is within the own person and it depends if she accepts herself or not. On the other hand if they are told by their coach that they have to get in better shape to excel in the sport they will take it to the extreme due to the natural competitiveness athletes have. As athletes we are always competing and trying to achieve the number one spot, so when it comes to getting in better shape or maybe loosing a couple pounds I think that the competitiveness kicks in and we might be at higher risk of an eating disorder to achieve the body we want. However I also agree that it has a lot to do with the media and the pressures of how a women is supposed to look. We see it everywhere and it has become the norm to look a certain way and I think it just makes it that much harder for women athletes and non-athletes to feel comfortable with their bodies and accept themselves.
-Cristal Perea
I actually just wrote a very similar blog to yours. I too suffered from disordered eating. I was a competitive gymnast, so I rarely thought about what I was eating. I also didn't have to exercise outside of practice because I was already working about 5 days a week. Once I quit, I noticed that my body started to change and I began to gain weight. I became obsessed about watching what I ate and how much I worked out. I took my athletic body for granted when I did gymnastics because I didn't realize how in shape I actually was. Once you stop doing a sport, you expect your body to not change that much. Over the years, my body had changed drastically. I understand what you are going through completely. It's strange, you are an athlete all your life, and when you stop you almost expect your body to be the way it always was. You never think about having to go to the gym, or eating carefully. Now that I am in college and I'm not an athlete anymore, my body has changed dramatically. I got a gym membership for the first time in my life, and now I think twice about what I'm eating.
-Jennifer Kubo
Section 3206
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