EATING DISORDERS
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Active women and girls who are
driven to excel in sports may develop the female athlete
triad - disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis.
Disordered eating encompasses a range of poor nutritional
habits; amenorrhea refers to irregular or absent menstrual
periods; and osteoporosis refers to low bone mass and deterioration
of bone.
All women face the societal pressure
to be thin - it is compounded in female athletes performing
in sports such as figure skating and gymnastics in which
leanness is emphasized. In response to pressure to lose
weight disordered eating practices may begin. Some of the
warning signs include: excessive leanness or rapid weight
loss pre-occupation with weight, food, body image wide fluctuations
in weight daily vigorous exercise on top of regular training
stress fractures fatigue, light headedness, dizziness depression,
low self esteem frequent sore throats without respiratory
illness (from self-induced vomiting) many dental cavities,
fould breath (from vomiting)
The bottom line is that eating
disorders can be fatal. There is a questionnaire that can
be used "Dying to be Thin". Let us know if you would be
interested in this.
How can
I tell if I suffer from an eating disorder?
Take the SCOFF screening test to find out! (Adapted from
St. Georges Hospital Medical School) Answer "YES" or "NO"
to the following questions
1. Do you make yourself SICK because you feel uncomfortably
full? Yes No
2. Do you worry you have lost CONTROL over what you eat?
Yes No
3. Have you recently lost more than ONE stone (5 kg or 11
lbs) in a three-month period? Yes No
4. Do you believe yourself to be FAT when others say you
are too thin?
Yes No
5. Would you say that FOOD dominates your life? Yes No
SCORING: one point for every "yes";
a score of 2 indicates a likely case of anorexia nervosa
or bulimia nervosa - you need to talk with your health care
provider to improve your health! Go to
www.dietitians.ca to locate a Registered Dietitian
near you that specializes in Eating Disorders.
How are anorexia and bulimia clinically diagnosed by health
care providers?
Anorexia Nervosa
