Eating disorders

[passion]

I'm just curious, are eating disorders really that rampant in figure skating? I didn't think so, but I'm not a competitive skater. If so, who does the pressuring? Is it the parent or the coach that puts ideas into the kids' heads (if this is indeed the case at all)?

[Bella]

I don't exactly know how common full out eating disorders are, but I'm sure dieting and watching what one eats is very common.

Just speaking for myself, I went through a period of "disordered eating". I didn't become a full out anorexic, but I was progressing through the stages and losing weight, and getting unhealthy, until I had enough help to finally stop. However, I was always watching what I was eating, and for me this stemmed just from what I had perceived as a young girl as the "right" way to look or eat in this sport.

No coach or parent had ever encouraged this for me...I remember reading a skating book, and at one stage they were talking about how hard it was for girls to jump when they gain weight through puberty, and they had to be careful, etc. so I automatically assumed I had to lose weight and watch what I eat. I guess it's just the "status quo" that had encouraged me personally.

There was one other girl in the club who went through what I did, the year before I did, and I don't know if her case was similar or not, but I know neither the coaches nor her parents encouraged her - everyone was quite worried actually. And there was one other girl who watched what she ate, but she was never encouraged to lose weight.

So anyways, I don't know how common it is for parents and coaches to encourage weight loss. One has to be SO careful with how you tell a student! Personally, I think it's up to the skater - you can still jump even if you're not a toothpick. So let the skater decide! They're the ones out on the ice doing all the hard stuff. And if they feel they'd benefit from slimming down a bit, then it's something they should decide.

[Artemis]

Rampant? No. But hardly non-existant either.

Remember, though, that a true eating disorder (as opposed to just unhealthy/unbalanced eating habits -- either too much or too little) isn't primarily about weight, it's about control. So if a skater were being pushed and pressured by a parent or a coach and is feeling like she doesn't have control over that aspect of her life, she could develop an eating disorder to take control of that one part of her life. (I say "she" because it's far more common in girls/women, but of course not unknown in boys/men.) Or she could be feeling out of control in any other aspect of her life -- home, school, etc. So in that respect it's no different than for any other young person.

[7302005]

I am not sure that eating disorders are any more rampant in skating or gymnastics (the other sport people sometimes associate with AN), but below is some information about Anorexia Nervosa

Severe weight loss
Periods stopping (Amenorrhoea)
Hormonal changes in men and boys
Difficulty sleeping
Dizziness
Stomach pains
Constipation
Poor circulation & feeling cold
Wanting to be left alone
Wearing big baggy clothes
Excessive exercising
Lying about eating meals
Denying there is a problem
Difficulty concentratig
Wanting to have control
Intense fear of gaining weight
Depressed
Feeling emotional
Obsession with dieting
Mood swings
Distorted perception of body weight and size

Artemis is correct - eating disorders are generally about control. There is some research linking some cases to strep infections, but I stress some beginning research and some cases not all!

It is difficult to treat and is a life long battle.

The other types of eating disorders include: Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating

A few words about men.

Eating disorders are illnesses that are generally believed to affect women rather than men. However, with more men now contacting Eating Disorders Association than in the past this raised the question of what treatment and services are available for them.

The Eating Disorders program in my area has treated a variety of ages. One of the youngest males was 9 years old.

Eating Disorders are a very real illness and need medical attention.

[stardust skies]

I'm just curious, are eating disorders really that rampant in figure skating?

Among young, eligible, Olympic dreaming athletes: yes. Among adult skating? I assume not (because if adults have grown up with healthy habits about food, they're less likely to fall into the trap of eating disorders than impressionable children and teens) . Among recreational skaters? Again, I assume not. Maybe a few isolated cases here or there. But everyone I know at the rink (who skates the high sessions with me) has some form of eating disorder, and so did I for 5 years. I still have remnants of it, but I do my best to keep it at bay, and my family helps. It's very easy when judges and coaches and even other skaters say the things that are said at competitions, practices, and tests.

Skaters are very self-reliant people anyway, most of the time they decide to do it themselves, just because of "comments" and "suggestions" from people. It's not like most coaches say "stop eating", but maybe it'll be "you know, your triple lutz would come a lot easier if you lost 5 pounds". And soooo it begins. The coach doesn't lie though, the triple lutz does come easier when you've got 5 pounds less to throw into the air. It's just...how many times can you afford to lose five pounds before there's nothing left? Because "lose 5 pounds" is pretty much everyone's answer to everything in skating, so you hear it a lot, no matter how much you may have already lost. This is true in other sports too, though.

Why do you ask, anyways?

[nja]

. It's not like most coaches say "stop eating", but maybe it'll be "you know, your triple lutz would come a lot easier if you lost 5 pounds". And soooo it begins. The coach doesn't lie though, the triple lutz does come easier when you've got 5 pounds less to throw into the air. It's just...how many times can you afford to lose five pounds before there's nothing left? Because "lose 5 pounds" is pretty much everyone's answer to everything in skating, so you hear it a lot, no matter how much you may have already lost. This is true in other sports too, though.



This sometimes get scary as I have seen this happen with kids as young as 10 or 11 years old. The coach goes to the parent and tells them that they could be landing their double lutz or axel or whatever cleanly/consistently if they dropped a few pounds. An already slim girl at a very young age is being given the impression that her weight is the reason why she is not succeeding. I saw this happen with an 11-year old girl who progressed from pre-juv to intermediate competition in 2 years (it was after she started competing in intermediate that the weight discussions began). I also saw it with a young dance team where the boy is not large. The girl was told to slim down even further to fit better with the boy. I can't think of much worse than to be giving healthy pre-teen or early teen girls the impression that their weight is the reason why they aren't succeeding!!

I agree that these issues are also present in other sports. I remember some time ago hearing that ski jumpers are seeing rapid increases in anorexia or other related disorders. And jockeys have been known to have these issues for a long time now.

Sometimes you have to wonder if it is really worth it. To love something enough to work hard and push yourself is a good thing; to kill yourself over it is not! You sometimes have to wonder where the line gets crossed and by who.

[passion]

Not to worry, I don't have body image issues. I was reading an article about gender issue in skating and the point about girl skaters being pretty and slim as being "ideal" image for skating came up. In its conclusion it did mention that having such a narrow "ideal" image is unhealthy for the above discussed reason.

[mikawendy]

Sometimes you have to wonder if it is really worth it. To love something enough to work hard and push yourself is a good thing; to kill yourself over it is not! You sometimes have to wonder where the line gets crossed and by who.

This reminds me of the memoir by Kathryn Bertine, All the Sundays Yet to Come. I'm glad she's doing better now.

[AshBugg44]

I think the majority of my skating friends have, at one point, tried starving themselves or making themselves throw up. Not necessarily a full-fledged eating disorder, but more than they should've done.

[triple twist]

i dont htink its a parent or coach that pushes a person to become skinny and aware of their weight, its the whole out look on the sport and how they look on the ice that inspires them. I mean take a look...are any skaters at the top of the sport needing to loose a few pounds? I dont think so...

[JumpinBug]

I think it's as others have said... perhaps not rampant, but still a part of the sport. I ended up with an eating disorder both from skating and family pressures... looking at the photos now I find it ridiculous. I wasn't a stick, but I was certainly thin and healthy.

I've witnessed parents telling their children that they need to lose weight so that a dress looks better, right in front of a coach and the coach says nothing. Never mind that the child has no weight to lose and the dress doesn't fit because the body isn't long enough for a growing child. Agh.

I think it comes from a combination of things... pressure to be lighter to make lifts easier or jump higher, perhaps well meant comments from friends and family when comparing to other skaters, what we see on tv, etc.

[Chico]

I'm a small adult skater. I've always been a small person, just the way I was made. My old coach was forever commenting on how my size and build was good for my skating. In fact, I was told that my small size contributed to my ability as a skater. As an adult I took this information with a grain of salt, however I did wonder how a child would take this information. It was ment in a nice way, nothing bad in anyway. But as a child or teen it might feel different. I liked to please my coach even as an adult, as a child, if I thought size was important to my skating I might pay extra attention to this issue. Coaches play an important role in a skaters life and need to be careful in what and how they say things. And, parents need to keep in touch with their kids so they know what their thinking. As a parent I know kids get funny ideas, it's amazing sometimes, and they need grounded information.

[crayonskater]

I'm not surprised, but I would draw a distinction between anorexia nervosa (a mental illness) and a skater who is obsessed with being thin to land her triple lutz, only if that the different problems require different treatments.

I love figure skating, but if I have a daughter someday, I'm not sure I'd let her compete. If she's like me, she'll tend toward the muscular-but-not-sylph like, and I'd hate for her to destroy her health at age 13.

Adult skaters don't develop eating disorders not due to maturity, but due to incentive; it's unlikely to land a triple when one begins as an adult, and I get the sense that doubles are less about weight and more about technique. Plus, what's the point? Nike isn't going to care if I win Bronze I. ;)

[CanAmSk8ter]

I don't think full-fledged eating disorders are as common among high-level competitors as many would believe, mainly because someone who has severe anorexia and/or bulimia probably isn't going to have the energy to put in the training required at the top levels (although of course there are exceptions).

But having put in a total of eight years at two different major training centers, I will say that disordered eating habits and preoccupation with body image [i]are[/] very common among competitive skaters. I knew very few teenage girl skaters who didn't deal with these issues at one time or another, and I've known some who continue to be haunted by these issues well past the time they stop competing.

[triple twist]

mainly because someone who has severe anorexia and/or bulimia probably isn't going to have the energy to put in the training required at the top levels


I always wonder the same thing...but apparently its possible.

[skatin83]

the first time on the ice after 14 yrs was today for me. did figure skatin when i was very young had an eatin disorder but that was all to do with another sport dont think u can generalise on this sport or that sport makin people have eatin disorders its just the individual and other factors but i suppose some sports do have a higher chance of developin eating disorders than others but i dont know was too young when i did it.

[skatin83]

there was also a post about energy and eatin disorders i had to give up my sport but i went to an extreeme with 2 weeks to live but there r some people that can pull it off with an eatin disorder but they may not be as bad. it all depends on the severity of it.

[tinytot]

I compete in intermediate pairs and am 11 years old. I am very tiny and I know that, but I still put the pressure on myself to stay thin and little. My coach and parents have never suggested to me to diet or anything it is all pressure put on by me. Rach