Social media fuelling eating problems among female athletes: Research

The effects of social media on wellbeing has been by all in many different ways Now according to experts it is also fuelling eating problems among female athletes who believe they must achieve the ideal bodyDr Kathryn Vidlock and Catherine Liggett who have both competed in collegiate athletics and dietician Andrew Dole warn that nutrition myths posted by fitness influencers exerciserelated fitspiration images on Instagram and photoshopping are having a direct impact on sportswomenTheir new book Spring Forward Balanced Eating Exercise and Body Image in Sport for Female Athletes highlights how disordered eating and negative body image is now present in nearly all sports especially in high school but is often hiddenUnrealistic goalsThe authors say athletes constantly strive to fit into a bodytype ideal that isnt realistic and education is the way to stop this in its tracksFalse information is often perpetuated on social media by fitness influencers who are not actually qualified to give health information say the authors who are based in the US and New ZealandWith the creation of Photoshop and other editing devices the images portrayed by media are not realisticMany teens cannot achieve this body type without using damaging restrictive eating They feel the pressure to look ideal and subsequently they feel they are never good enough when they do not duplicate the unrealistic bodies seen in the mediaAthletes on social mediaThe considerable pressure to main the perfect physique has been voiced by top female competitors including tennis champion Serena Williams Earlier this year heptathlete Anna Hall used TikTok to attack critics who tell sportswomen they look like menIn Spring Forward published by CRC Press nearly a dozen female athletes share stories of how the pressure to be slim triggered their struggles with negative body imageFrom swimmers to tennis players the women featured in the book detail harrowing accounts such as running for 5 miles as selfpunishment for eating a cookie fainting in the gym after 24 hours without food and dieting heavily after criticism about her butt cheeksOne volleyball player even lost a friend the teams star player to anorexia when the girl suffered a heart attack triggered by the eating disorderDr Kathryn Vidlock and her coauthors highlight how the situation is made worse by the fact many sports have specific body type idealsRunners are expected to be very thin they say yet some elite runners have muscular legs that appear bigger than the stereotype The consequence is women often face disparaging remarksWhat can be doneTo counter unrealistic expectations Spring Forward encourages higherquality performance in womens sport achieved through healthy eating and nutrition from secondary school to elite athlete levelsThe aim is to educate teenage and women athletes sports coaches and clubs about body confidenceThis will protect them from unhealthy eating and fad diets such as ketogenic and other selfdestructive behaviors in a bid to meet unrealistic ideals say the authorsIt provides extensive instruction manuals on positive eating plans the consequences of disordered eating such as not menstruating and how parents can spot warning signsThe authors have also devised an education program SPRING Strength and Positivity Rooted in Nutrition for Girls for high schools which is described in the bookThey are calling for programs like SPRING to be offered in schools colleges and among adults so women at risk can be identified earlySPRING focuses on increasing body image flexibility which the authors define as the ability to be confident in ones body regardless of size or shape It involves three onehour long sessions spread throughout the athletes seasonData from research by the authors suggests SPRING has resulted in an increase of more than 2237 in body image flexibility among cheerleaders in Colorado schoolsAlso Read How to meditate 8 easy tips for beginnersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever