Running 5 miles for eating a cookie: Social media behind eating disorders in female athletes

Social media fuels eating disorders among female athletes, researchers warn.

Athletes described harrowing stories, including running five miles as punishment after eating a cookie and passing out in the gym after fasting for 24 hours, as interviewed by researchers at Rocky Vista University in Colorado.

In one case, a star volleyball player died of a fatal heart attack related to her condition. Jesse Diggins, who skied for Team USA at last year’s Beijing Olympics, has also hinted at her struggles with bulimia.

Experts warn that social media was a major driver, as tools like influencers using tools like Photoshop to enhance their features lead to unrealistic standards for female bodies.

Young girls as a whole across America are suffering a wave of eating disorders in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

Former American gymnast Vanessa Atler (pictured at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York City) became a gymnast when she was just 15 in 1997. But she said she was also weighed three times a day, which led her to develop an eating disorder

Unrealistic body standards have been imposed on female athletes for years, experts say.

However, social platforms like Instagram and Facebook have increased the pressure on young women to be ‘perfect’.

Dr. Kathryn Vidlock, a family medicine expert at Rocky Vista University, said: ‘False information is often perpetuated on social media by “fitness influencers” who are not actually qualified to provide health information.

“With the creation of Photoshop and other editing devices, the images rendered by media are not realistic.

“Many teens can’t achieve body type without using harmful restrictive eating.

“They feel the pressure to look ideal and then they feel they are never good enough if they don’t duplicate the unrealistic bodies seen in the media.”

Many world-class athletes have opened up about eating disorders while trying to conform to the “ideal” body image.

They contain Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins, of Minnesota, said she developed bulimia and began making herself throw up “several times a day” in an effort to keep fat off.

She has also started eating a snack – like a bowl of wheat cereal – then forcing herself to go for a 45 minute run between workouts, as well as believing she couldn’t have drinks like hot chocolate and that had to be fat from cutting steaks.

And former top US gymnast Vanessa Atler, who said she was weighed three times a day, and she started to force herself to throw up.

Other athletes have spoken out about physical ailments, including tennis star Serena Williams, who says she was constantly told she was “too muscular.”

The researchers detailed their nearly a dozen interviews with athletes in their 204-page book, titled Spring Forward: Balanced eating, exercise and body image in sports for female athletes.

The lyrics bring to light how negative body image is present in almost all sports, especially in high school.

Norms women try to follow are that all runners are “very skinny,” they said.

But in many cases, female runners have muscular legs, she added, which can lead to them being subjected to “disparaging comments.”

The chart above shows the number of emergency room visits in the US for eating disorders in girls and boys ages 12 to 17. The dark blue line represents girls and the dotted line represents boys

The book also describes how to solve the problem in women’s sports to prevent more women from developing an eating disorder.

The authors say healthy eating and nutrition counseling should be offered to all young women, from high school to the elite athlete level. It should also include teaching about body shapes.

This will protect them from unhealthy eating and fad diets like ketogenic and other self-destructive behaviors in an effort to achieve unrealistic ideals, they said.

The book also includes comprehensive guides on positive eating plans, the consequences of disordered eating, such as not menstruating, and how parents can recognize warning signs.

The authors also devised a SPRING (Strength and Positivity Rooted in Nutrition for Girls) education program for high schools that is described in the book.

They call for this to be offered in schools, colleges and among adults so that high-risk women can be spotted early.

SPRING focuses on increasing body image “flexibility,” which the authors define as the ability to feel confident in one’s own body, regardless of size or shape. It involves three one-hour sessions spread over the athlete’s season.

Data from research by the authors suggests that SPRING resulted in more than a 22 percent increase in body image flexibility among cheerleaders in Colorado schools.

Dr. Vidlock has been the team physician for the University of Iowa, local teams, and the physician for athletes from the recreational level to Olympic qualifiers.

She was an All-American Collegiate swimmer and understands the mindset of athletic achievement, having worked for performance and with athletes for over two decades.