Dancers Report Higher Prevalence Of Eating Disorders
Teen dancers were two times more likely than teen soccer, basketball and track players to develop eating disorders, according to a survey of 962 females age 17-24. 612 of the 962 high school athletes acknowledged some sort of struggle with eating, as serious as anorexia and bulimia, to a less serious but relevant “not eating the day before the big game” approach.
Multi-sport athletes who danced and played one other sport had the highest rate of eating disorders, dancers who focused only on dance had the second highest rate, followed by basketball players.
111 of the 612 said they’ve been in counseling and 23 of the 111 said they have been to a hospital related to malnutrition or other consequences.
Common signs of an eating disorder can include:
Changes in weight
Preoccupation with body image
Disruptions in eating patterns
Preoccupation with nutritional content
Mood fluctuations
Changes in exercise patterns
Use of laxatives, diuretics, or diet pills
The survey, conducted with readers of The Behavioral Health Hour, kept the names of the participating female players anonymous.
91% of the athletes surveyed said they hope for more support for young dancers and athletes around education, the risks of not eating and other behaviors, such as bulimia, and the importance of having coaches and parents willing to talk about the issues.
“Looking back there was a lot of pressure on us to perform and win, to be good enough so we could get a scholarship - it nearly cost me my life - but it didn’t have to be that way,” a 24 year old Callie said of her high school experience. Callie says she used to throw up for 6 months of her sophomore year when she realized she needed to stay at the same weight as the other girls because “a D1 scholarship was slipping away,” a friend told her. She spoke on condition of anonymity for now, but says she hopes to go to schools and dance and swim programs at some point and talk to coaches, students and parents.
“We shouldn’t have to hide.”