Sports are supposed to give women confidence and high self-esteem, but this is not always the case. Why is it that female athletes are more prone to eating disorders than non-athletic women? What is it about athletics that makes women strive more ardently for the “perfect body”?
A Brown University article on female athlete body image, “Muscle vs. aesthetics,” quotes a study, saying that between 16 and 72 percent of female athletes experience eating disorders, as compared to only five to ten percent in the general population. What is the cause for this disparity?
This same article provides an answer that is painfully obvious. “Female athletes are probably more at risk for eating disorders because they may have certain predisposing personal attributes that both make them athletes.They are driven to succeed and often ignore pain while trying to reach a goal.” Not to mention that some female athletes view their bodies as media for performance and success. When you start to think of your body as a tool instead of part of yourself, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the desire to make it perfect.
Nutritionist Laura Hutchinson believes that certain sports make women more prone to body image and eating issues. She says that “weight monitoring sports” and sports “that contain an aspect of aesthetic appeal” tend to put athletes at higher risk because “body shape plays a distinct role.”
Most female athletes need upwards of 2500 calories a day to maintain their bodyweight. Eating fewer calories, though bringing down the "number", hurts the body. Muscles are not replenished correctly, and therefor cannot heal from the workout properly. Poor eating habits lead to prolonged injury and injury prone athletes. This leads to poor performance and then low self esteem, which then propagates the body dsymorphia more with the mentality of "if i was skinnier, id be better"
I bring this up because i think we need to be more careful in the comments that we make towards each other and other competitors. 16- 72 % is an alarming percentage. that means that you have competed EVERY WEEK against at least one person struggling with this.
Pole vault is an extremely demanding sport. you need strength in many different aspects. It takes coordination and focus. It takes dedication and skill, as well as a little "all out" attitude and a ton of strength. As much as it takes physically, what it takes most of all is confidence. If there is anything that is hindering your confidence, it will show in your performance.
The way you see your body, or your body image, affects your confidence. What you say about someone else's body affects THEIR body image. Please be careful with your words, they can cut like daggers.
So what is a healthy body image? and how can you encourage others to have a healthy image?
First and foremost, numbers do not matter. The number on the scale is irrelevant to an athlete - i know that's not necessarily easy to understand with pole vault because of pole weight restrictions. Those restrictions are good in intentions, but misguided for most beginner vaulters because they are not holding at the top of the pole (every 6" down from the top adds 10 pounds to the pole weight that is marked at the top - meaning that if you are holding 2' down on a 120 pole, its like holding at the TOP of a 160)
It is true that our sport focuses on weight a little, BUT the number is not important to a healthy body.
As your coach, i want to see people jump on pole that are OVER their body weight - like if you weight 140, i want you jumping on a pole that says 160. That means that you are stronger and more skilled than the pole made for your weight. As vaulters we strive to keep moving UP on the poles, not down to a number that is smaller.
It is about strength and tone more than a "goal number" or what society calls an ideal weight. It is about being CONFIDENT in who you are because of WHO YOU ARE and what you can do, not because of what you look like.
I am proud of each and every one of you for sticking with such a difficult sport through the season. Through ups and downs and injuries, you made it and were able to accomplish great things. Be proud of yourselves.
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