Expert: Ryan Hale - 5/23/2011

Question
what causes eating disorders in atheletes

Answer
Bertha-  It would seem that there are often a combination of characteristics or events that can lend itself to the development of an eating disorder.  Eating disorders:

1. have a genetic component.  As much or more than 30% of the cause can be genetic

2. very often there are associated pathologies that are present as well such as depression, anxiety or substance abuse

3. frequently, people who suffer eating disorders come from families that have someone in them with an eating disorder.  Sometimes they have high expectations placed on them for perfection or have been abused in some way

4. the media sends messages everyday to people on how we should look; those messages are often distorted by images that have been manipulated or unreasonable expectations for perfection and appearance

In athletes, some of these things can lead to a disorder, such as high expectations, never being satisfied and putting up with discomfort.  Often coaches place unreasonable expectations on an athlete and sometimes appearance is a performance criteria (dance, diving, gymnastics).  Sometimes weight can impede performance in some sports such as cycling, running, or wrestling.  Often athletes feel that they can get an edge if they just loose weight.  For people who will do anything to gain a competitive advantage, dieting their way into an eating disorder can seem like a way to do that.  

So like I said, take someone who has a genetic predisposition for an eating disorder, couple them with a coach who has high expectations and a willingness to do anything to win on the part of the athlete and you could end up with an eating disorder.  Sometimes in athletics, the disorder is due almost entirely to the willingness to undergo hardship in the pursuit of victory and there are not the "typical" factors often found in others with ED.  There are often social factors in sport as well.  Sometimes people will have teammates who are suffering from ED and act as role models for the others on the team.  The team is tightly knit and as a form of unity, conforming to the "norms" of the team may be highly regarded.  It is very, very infrequent that a woman on a team would be the only one with ED.  Research shows that in nearly every circumstance there will be others on the team who have an ED as well.

Hope this helps.  Let me know if I can answer any more questions you might have.