Athletes Body Image Issues

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English 101-08
Professor Shannon Smith
December 3, 2015 Issues of Body Image for Athletes Approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies. This can mostly be contributed to societies standards of what men and women are “supposed” to look like. This image is often affected by family, friends, social pressure and the media. Unfortunately, only 5% of women naturally possess the body type often portrayed by Americans in the media (“11 Facts”). "Body image" is the way that someone perceives their body and assumes that others perceive them, but the athletes who have a specifically hard time with body images are ones such as dancers, ice skaters, and gymnasts. The perfect body of a gymnast is someone who is about 5 feet tall

The most detrimental of these is the female athlete triad. This can have a significant impact on the lives of many athletes. The female athlete triad is when a female athlete’s energy intake is inadequate to meet energy expenditure. This can cause the reproductive cycle to be disrupted, and amenorrhea may result. Amenorrhea refers to the absence of menstrual periods and can be caused by intensive exercising, extreme weight loss, physical illness, and stress which can all be related to the female athlete triad ("Amenorrhea”). Female athletes may respond to pressure to meet unrealistic weight or body fat levels with excessive dieting. In both instances, the unintended effect can be a cascade of events labeled the female athlete triad. Inadequate nutrition for a women’s level of physical activity often begins a cycle in which disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis occur in sequence (“11

The most effective way is a campaign promoting healthy body images for all athletes. This campaign would focus on exercising, healthy eating, healthy body weight, the up and downsides of dieting, and would even focus on having positive people in your life. For example, having a positive, person-oriented coaching style rather than a negative, performance-oriented coaching style can make quite a difference. Also, social influence and support from teammates with healthy attitudes towards size and shape. Having coaches who emphasize factors that contribute to personal success such as motivation and enthusiasm rather than body weight or shape is essential to prevent gymnasts from facing the unrealistic body images. And lastly, it is important for coaches and parents to educate, talk about and support the changing female body as it matures. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has brought together experts on this topic to exchange knowledge to protect the health of female athletes as best as possible. They created the four “Hungry for Gold” videos which are an educational tool aimed at athletes, parents, coaches and support staff, as well as administrators, informing them about the female athlete triad as well as the related health implications. Through the experiences of Anezka, Aiko, Tochi, Jesse and Akeyo featured in the “Hungry for Gold” videos, viewers can learn about