As a female athlete in college I noticed many of my teammates and other friends (who also happen to be athletes) frequently comment on their body weight and defects, and the food they allow themselves or not to consume. After some research, I found that my friends are in a gray area, where they don’t have a clinical eating disorder, but most likely have an unhealthy relationship with food.

What do eating disorders in female athletes look like?

Female college students are particularly at risk of developing an eating disorder, as most eating disorders occur in women and in people under the age of 25 (Coelho, 2014).  However, athletes experience additional sport specific pressures. They are immersed in a social environment that focuses heavily on their bodies’ appearance and performance (Greenlaf, 2009). Sport specific conditions that can put athletes at risk of developing an eating disorder include weight regulation, lack of knowledge of necessary nutrient and fluid intake, excessive high intensity training, coaches’ and peers behaviors and expectations, and the desire to be leaner in order to be faster (Coehlo, 2014). As a result of these pressures, many female college athletes struggle with undiagnosed eating disorders.

Eating disorders, such as anorexia nerviosa, bulimia, and binge eating are clinical mental health disorders involving major concerns around food, and body image and weight, which cause harmful eating behaviors (World, 2020). However, female athletes that suffer from eating disorders, suffer from “anorexia athletica”. This is when nutrient consumption is restricted, so there is a limited energy intake despite high physical performance. Because anorexia athletica has some but not all of the characteristics of an eating disorder, it is considered a subclinical disorder (Coelho, 2014). Athletes may experience subclinical symptoms such as over exercising or a restrictive diet, “as opposed to vomiting, dieting, laxatives, or diuretics, to control their weight” (Greenlaf, 2009). These symptoms are very dangerous because they are masked as performance driven behaviours, so they are hard to identify. Subclinical eating disorders often go undiagnosed, so many struggling athletes do not receive the treatment and help they need (Greenlaf, 2009).

Why does this “gray area” exist?

For the most part, factors that lead to clinical eating disorders are the same as those that lead to subclinical disorders. However, once in this  “gray area” or subclinical disorders, it may be hard to recognize when people cross the line into clinical disorders. Perhaps society tends to see any medical condition in a black or white fashion, either you have it or you don’t, which leads to a problematic viewing of this “gray area”. Automatically, subclinical eating disorders are not considered eating disorders, so they go untreated until they become too dangerous and have a long lasting negative impact on the female athletes.

A first step to eliminating, or reducing anorexia athletica, would be for colleges and athletic programs to acknowledge that unhealthy eating behaviors and obsessions are common in female athletes across all sports. We must educate coaches, health professionals, and athletes on  the causes and symptoms. These should be common knowledge in athletic spaces, in order to identify and prevent these disorders. Hopefully, by promoting self-acceptance, healthy eating, and reasonable training and recovery, we can decrease subclinical eating disorders, and use collegiate sports as a tool to empower and inspire women.

Bibliography

Coelho, Gabriela Morgado de Oliveira et al. “Prevention of eating disorders in female athletes.” Open access journal of sports medicine vol. 5 105-13. 12 May. 2014, doi:10.2147/OAJSM.S36528 

Greenleaf, Christy, et al. “Female Collegiate Athletes: Prevalence of Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating Behaviors.” Journal of American College Health, vol. 57, no. 5, Mar. 2009, pp. 489–496. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3200/JACH.57.5.489-496.

World Health Organization. “Adolescent Mental Health,” September 28, 2020. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health.