Educate Yourself: National Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2024

    

    The week of Feb. 26th through March 3rd is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week and while I haven’t ever been diagnosed with an eating disorder myself I believe that bringing awareness to this cause is extremely important. National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDAW) is an annual campaign targeted at educating the public about eating disorders and providing hope for friends, families and those struggling with a disorder themselves. I have watched as many of my teammates, friends and loved ones have struggled with disordered eating and it’s something no one should ever have to go through.

    Being a female athlete, however, eating disorders are unfortunately not hard to come by. 42% of female athletes have been diagnosed with an eating disorder while 70% have engaged in behaviors that can lead to a disorder. Actions such as restricting their eating or overworking their bodies are prime examples. Athletes in sports that focus more on individual performance such as cross-country, figure skating, gymnastics or swimming are more at risk for developing an eating disorder than others but that doesn’t necessarily mean all other sports are off the hook. In an interview with Sky Sports, Tottenham Women’s defender Molly Bartrip talked about how an injury in her early teens led to the development of her disordered eating and how that affected her career. Bartrip was quoted saying, "That kind of illness, it controls you so intensely that you don't really know yourself. And that's how I felt at the time, I didn't know who I was, I didn't know what was going on. I just felt like this thing on my shoulder was literally telling me the calories in things, the fat content to make sure that I didn't eat enough. It was like this voice just in my ear 24/7. And it was really draining."  

    Athletes who are dedicated to their sports and try to fix every minor flaw in their play begin to develop a perfectionist way of thinking and disordered eating habits. The consequences that come next can have serious effects on a person's future health. By restricting calorie intakes, athletes especially, cannot produce enough energy needed for their exercise levels. Restrictive eating can also result in low levels of estrogen leading to the absence of menstruation which can have serious heart and brain effects in the future. Along with that are decreased bone density, compromised immune function and gastrointestinal problems which all can lead to serious health problems. Finally, one of the biggest effects eating disorders have on anyone is the increase of anxiety and depression. By not fueling yourself properly your body begins to take from other parts of your body just to continue to survive which then leads to an overall bigger issue. 

    It’s not just female athletes who suffer from disordered eating, however. Up to 19% of male athletes suffer from an eating disorder while 33% struggle with some sort of disordered eating. Scarily enough more males will die as a result of disordered eating than their female counterparts as a result of going undiagnosed. While male athletes in cross-country, track, wrestling, swimming and gymnastics are all at a higher risk of developing an eating disorder it still can affect anyone. Former Penn State kicker Joey Julius spoke to his teammates about his mental health struggles and his journey to recovery. “I’ve learned if I try to compare myself to everyone else, I will truly despair,” he said. “If I keep trying to be like someone I’m not, I will not be anything.” 

    Recognizing an eating disorder in someone you know is one of the toughest things anyone has to do and you truly don’t recognize it until you take a step back and look with a critical eye. I’ve witnessed some of my best friends go through the challenges of this horrible disease and while I can't change the past, I can provide insights into signs to look out for and offer advice on approaching someone who may be going through an eating disorder. While some signs of an eating disorder, such as excessive weight loss, low energy and restrictive eating, are more apparent, others may not be as blatantly obvious in the moment. Behaviors like avoiding eating around others, refraining from consuming favorite foods and engaging in overtraining are among the less noticeable indicators. Overtraining is hard to recognize when you're an athlete. For our entire lives, we’re told that if we aren’t getting better someone else is and they’ll take our opportunities because they worked hard for it and we didn’t. This idea of constantly having to work is engrained in our heads to the point where we don’t even recognize it as “overworking” and instead view it as “working hard” “grinding” or “putting in the work” and it’s hurting athletes in the long run. 

    One last thing I’m going to leave you with is something I wish someone would have told me sooner and that is, to say something. Even if you think it’s not that big of a deal, it’s going to ruin your relationship or they’re getting better, I promise you saying something has a much better outcome than any of those other circumstances. So this week, February 26th through March 3rd, take the time to educate yourself on the dangers of eating disorders and how to recognize them because you never know who could be silently struggling. 

ANAD Hotline: 1 (888)-375-7767 

NEDA Resources: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/get-help/