Richard G
KIN338.S6
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Female Athlete Triad
I found it very ironic that the prevention was the first step to treating the female athlete triad. To me this is very ironic because we are talking about the silent assassin of female athletes. This is like trying to prevent chronic pulmonary disease. The symptoms are way too subtle. More often than not, by the time the symptoms are recognized by professionals with the training to help someone it is already too late. I am also very appalled at the number of stories of coaches telling their athletes they have to lose weight in order to perform better. The first thing that comes to my mind when an athlete needs to perform better is to strengthen. If these athletes are moving too slowly, they should strength train in order to become more explosive and thus increasing performance. Weight loss should never be part of this plan to improve performance. I really think that the problem with the female athlete triad lies within the parents and coaches. The athletes have to be given proper instruction in how to improve and maintain their bodies according to the sport they are playing. The athletes also need the support from their parents and families in whatever sports they choose to do. if they are supported the athlete's self esteem will rise, which is one of the main factors in the female athlete triad.
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3 comments:
I definitely agree with you Richard, when trainers, coaches, physicians, friend and even parents notice the symptoms, it is too late. More than likely the female athlete probably has lost a lot of weight already. This reminds me of one of my team mates in high school. We both played basketball together our freshman and sophomore year. In addition she played softball and she was even a star player. However our junior year she decided that she wanted to play wrestling and at my high school we only had a men wrestling team, because none of the girls wanted to play that. Since she joined wrestling during junior year, she became more conscious about her weight and that was when it became an issue. She started loosing weight junior year, to make the weigh-ins, however in the beginning of our senior year her weight was severely lost. She was anorexic and she had a serious problem. However nobody really said anything to her because they assumed that she was still in wrestling. It was a really sad because my friend didn’t get to finish her senior year with us because she was in rehab. It was really sad and a lot of our classmates were shocked that someone in our school actually had a disease. I just think that the female athlete triad is very serious and very dangerous that it not only affected her life but it opened a lot of student’s eyes, that it was a serious problem.
Nancy Torres
Kin 338I.S6
I also found that the three categories for prevention and treatment for the Female Athlete Triad were extremely unrealistic. First of all, they start by saying that there needs to be educational programs put in place to prevent eating disorders. They are stating that if the school can offer nutritional food options that women have a better chance of not developing an eating disorder. They also say that athletic directors have a big influence on young women and they should be more accepting of all shapes and sizes. First of all by implicating a nutrition unit in their curriculum will not stop girls from developing a eating disorder. They can act upon their own choices outside of campus. Secondly, yes coaches and athletic directors have an influence over their girls; but only to a certain degree. Friends, peers, societal expectations, and even family members can put pressure on young girls to have a certain image. For the second prevention treatment they talk about detecting early signs and symptoms. This is useless because if someone is noticing symptoms of a friend who might have an eating disorder...it's already too late! She has it and preventing the disorder is too late. Now all you can do is be there for her and guide her to the right direction.
-Katie Wilson
W/ST 338I
I have an overall problem with this female athlete triad. Minus the feminine monthly cycle part of it, this is not a "Female" thing, this is an athlete thing. If you look at any male athlete, who has had a long term of playing a sport, the human body breaks down. Look at any professional athlete after they retire, they typically put on weight, suffer from long term effects of their sports background and have MANY other issues with their bodies. This is just a part of being competitive. Men do things to their body as athletes as well that are not healthy. It needs to be a focus on not just women, but on all athletes to focus on teaching proper eating habits, weight training, and over all health. Men usually go the other way, in putting on massive amounts of weight that can be unhealthy. We as people need to prioritize what sports means to us and either educate the proper way to maintain a healthy body while competing or put less emphasis on the outcome.
Rob R.
338I s.6
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