Intro-
Body Image- Your personal evaluation of self and perception of appearance to others
Height, weight, body curves, size of features, etc
Includes how you feel others believe you look
Connected to self esteem and self worth
What’s a healthy body image?
You are genuinely comfortable with and feel good about the way you look
It has more to do with mental health than physical much of the time
We are all very aware of professional celebrity and even social media photos being unrealistic
Photoshop, dehydrated,exercises prior, specific lighting and background color, body position and flexing, etc
My body image
History of anorexia
Highschool wrestling and fear of becoming obese
Was easy to hide for me but I was very aware
Nobody expected it from a male, and controlling weight for sport was a simple cover up with competing year round.
“Got over it” from lifting weights and worrying about the weight of the dumbbells and not my body
Aspects of mindset doesn’t always go away
Swore to have abs 15-50yrs, and plan on more
Dysmorphic
I feel like it’s controlled and has helped me achieve things I wouldn’t have otherwise.
Debatably healthy
Disorders
Dysmorphia- emotional believe about 1 or more perceived defects or flaws with their body and appearance
Typically more fit individuals and athletes
“My abs are popping enough”; “My butt and legs are too big/small”; “my left shoulder is so flabby compared to my right”; etc
Stops people from fully enjoying or participating in social settings
Does not wear revealing bathing suits, refuses to take shirt off at beach, responds negatively when someone comments or even compliments your body aspect
This is me personally now
Orthorexia nervosa-
Involves a strong obsession with healthy eating
Revolves more around food quality and not quantity
Rarely focused on losing weight
More on being as healthy as possible and may appear to be fanatical to others
Associated with and could be a gateway into hypochondrial disorders
Anaorexia
Disordered definition- an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat
Medical definition- lack or loss of appetite
Approximately 1% of the USA population has anorexia in their lifetime
1 in 5 die from it or complications from it
About half have comorbid anxiety or social disorders
60% “fully recover
Live a life free of any eating disorder thoughts or behavior
20% makes a partial recovery
Stays focused on food and weight but lives a normal life
Bulimia Nervosa
An emotional disorder characterised by extreme eating and then regret and purging thereafter.
Goes to the bathroom right after eating every meal
Sports and relation to eating disorders and body image?
More athletes have eating disorders than non-athletes
49.2% of College D1 and 40% of DIII athletes are considered to have an eating disorder.
Extreme pressure from collegiate and professional coaches
More stress of body image comes from teammates
Constantly trying to be better than their peers
Teasing each other for how they look and eat while being an athlete
Those more susceptible to body image issues are well documented at avoiding sports due to uniforms
Some are functional and have an advantage like swimmers
Others like volleyball do not and the difference between male and female uniforms are obvious and likely due to in part of sexual exploitation
Or cross country males with shorts. This is functional to a degree, but has stopped many from competing in the sport
33% of all female athletes have a body image or eating disorder
33% of males in weight and aesthetic sports
Wrestling, Bodybuilding, Jockey
Football 40% collegiate and professional athletes binge and purge like bulimia
Perception of men vs women athletes
Average and smaller than average men want to be larger with various goals of tone
Women of all sizes want to be smaller
