Athletes With Eating Disorders example essay topic

... Unlike anorexics, bulimics do realize they have a problem and are more likely to seek help. The likely hood of a bulimic seeking help decreases the percentage of people who die from this disorder. A third eating disorder experienced in our society is body disorder. This is defined as 'imagined ugliness', or where the person sees herself / himself as ugly no matter what. This disorder is much harder to recognize then anorexia or bulimia.

Clues to this disorder are slight and often subtle but they indicate an estrangement from the body and a distorted self-image that reflects an underlying mental illness. Some people feel this is a new disorder because they haven't heard about it as much, but the truth is that in 1891 an Italian physician named Morselli discovered it, the root word literally means ugliness, so this disorder is actually the fear of one's own ugliness. This pre-occupation with ones looks tends to be persis-tent and eventually leads to marked social dysfunctional and, occasionally, behavioral extremes. This disorder can liter-ally drive people crazy. The number of eating disorders in athletes is on the rise, especially in sports like gymnastics, figure skating, dancing, and swimming. According to a 1992 American College of Sports Medicine study, eating disorders affected 62% of females in sports like figure skating and gymnastics.

Famous gymnasts such as Kathy Johnson, Nadia Coman eci, and Kathy Rigby, a 1972 Olympian who fought eating disorders for 12 years, have come forward and admitted to fighting eating disorders. It got so bad for Rigby that she went into cardiac arrest twice because of it. Many female athletes fall victim to eating disorders in a desperate attempt to be thin in order to please coaches and judges. Many coaches are guilty of pres-spring these athletes to be thin by criticizing them or making reference to their weight. Those comments could cause an athlete to resort to dangerous methods of weight control and can do serious emotional damage to the athlete. For example, in 1988, at a meet in Budapest, a US judge told Christy Henrich, one of the world's top gymnasts that she had to lose weight if she hoped to make the Olympic Squad.

Christy resorted to anorexia and bulimia as a way to control her weight and her eating disorders eventually took her life. On July 26, 1994, at the age of 22, Christy Henrich died of multiple organ failure. It had gotten so bad for her that at one point she weighed as little as 47 pounds. Athletes with eating disorders can be at a higher risk for medical complications such as electrolyte imbalances and cardiac arrhythmia.

Coaches need to educate them-selves on the dangers and the signs that an athlete may be suffering from an eating disorder, and not only coaches, but athletes, need to remember no gold medal is worth dying for. There are many ways of helping someone with an eating disorder. If you suspect that your child or anyone you know has an eating disorder you should never: tell them their crazy, blame them, gossip about them, follow them around to check their eating or purging behavior. You should also never ignore them, reject them, tell them to quit the ridiculous behavior, or feel you need to solve their problems. Some things you should do are to listen with understanding, appreciate their openness and the risk they took to tell you, support them and be available. Two of the most important things you should do are to always give her hope, and continuously, but gently suggest counseling.

Through medical treatment, there are also many ways to help a person with an eating disorder. One method is by psychological counseling. A problem with treating anorexia is getting the victim to first admit that they have a problem, and to not deny their illness any longer. Through counseling, the root of the victims' problem is found.

They are helped to find and recognize their distorted view of their body. Also any form of abuse they may have been through is brought up and often family members are in counseling sessions to help the victim. It has been found that group-counseling sessions have been found to be useful because a common perception of the problem is found. For the physical aspect of anorexia, weight gain is the first step to recovery. Some patients may even have to be hospitalized because their weight loss has been so severe. Physicians may prescribe gradual in-creases in food intake and dietary supplements, and tell a patient not to exercise.

In the most severe cases, especially if a patient resists instructions to eat, nutrients and fluids may be admin- intravenously. During hospitalization, patients receive both physical and mental care. They may have to stay there for a few days or even weeks at a time to help treat anorexia. However, the mental effects of this disease may take longer to treat. With both physical and mental care, anorexia can often be treated and its effects can be reversed. Researchers estimate that of those diagnosed with anorexia, 42 percent recover, 30 percent improve somewhat, and more than 20 percent suffer from a chronic eating disorder.

New ways are being found to prevent anorexia. Through self-image awareness, the virtues of self-esteem and acc- are being promoted. Perhaps with less emphasis in society over appearance, anorexia may finally be prevented. Roughly two million young women suffer from the symptoms of anorexia or bulimia. Eating disorders are caused by a striving to 'look good'.

This need to 'look good' is so bad that in the mid 1980's 477,000 esthetic surgeries were done, that was up 61% from 1981. Although not all is known about eating disorders, we must keep studying them, and the effect society has on causing these problems, so we can someday be able to control and prevent these diseases. The pain and suffering that both the victim and their family and friends go through is unfathomable. No matter how many words are written or situations are explained, the true understanding and reasoning of an eating disorder is only known by the victim them self.