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Latest
studies reveal that student-athletes who participate
in sports like gymnastics, diving, and figure
skating are more at risk of falling prey to anorexia,
bulimia, and binge-eating than non-athletes. Find
out what some schools are doing about it.
The Battle
Against Eating Disorders Is On!
By Feona Sharhran Huff
October 2000
The CollegeBound Network NewsClick --
Let's be honest
-- eating disorders among college athletes are
real. And, according to a study spearheaded by
Heather Hausenblas, a University of Florida researcher,
athletes who participate in aesthetic sports (i.e.
gymnastics, diving, and figure skating) appear
more at risk of falling prey to anorexia, bulimia,
and binge-eating than non-athletes. This,
suggests the study, which included over 10,000
athletes, is mainly because sports are heavy on
competition, and often have a "need to be
thin to win" stigma attached.
So what's being done to
combat such findings? Fortunately, for eating
disorder victims, athletic departments at many
universities are stepping up to the plate to address
the issue. At many schools, there's a new team
in the house -- this one consisting of a physician,
psychologist and/or counselor, nutritionist, and
a member of the athletic department.
Amy Magnuson, sports nutritionist
for Florida State University, is part of one of
these helpful teams. She does everything from
evaluating what lead to an athlete's eating disorder
and explaining the consequences of starving, purging,
and binging, to establishing a healthy dietary
program Õ with the athletes input, of course.
The whole point, says Magnuson, is educating the
athlete about healthy eating habits and behavior.
Other schools, including
Stanford University, University of Tennessee,
St. John's University, University of California-Los
Angeles, University of Chicago, University of
Illinois-Chicago, and Pennsylvania State University,
also offer eating disorder programs for their
student athletes.
Educators and eating disorder-prevention
organizations are also lending their knowledge
and support toward the cause. Joanne Chopak, an
associate professor in the department of health
and kinesiology at Georgia Southern University,
agrees that the expertise of a sports nutritionist
is vital to helping athletes overcome their eating
disorder.
"It is equally important
that coaches are well educated on the subject,
too. They need to watch what they say," she
explains. Track coaches, for example, may suggest
that their members slim down to be faster; these
athletes could wind up losing too much weight,
says Chopak, drastically affecting their overall
physical performance. Not to mention the fact
that they may eventually suffer internal problems.
That's why early intervention
is key, says Bonnie Harken, president of the International
Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP),
which provides education and training to healthcare
professionals and others who deal with eating
disorders. "Eating disorders are not fads...
they are killers," she explains. "People
die."
Eating disorders are no joke.
So, as the saying goes: "Reach one, teach
one." And, with the involvement of the athlete,
the university, family, and organizations, the
problem can be contained, and eventually eradicated.
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