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Eating Disorders in Male and Female Athletes

Student’s Name

Institution’s Affiliation
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Discuss the factors that may increase the risk of developing an eating disorder in

athletes. Include the potential influence of individual factors (such as gender and age), as

well as external/environmental factor

Eating disorder is a serious illness that affects a person’s eating behavior and mostly it in

adolescents and young adults (El Ghoch, et al, 2013). Having an obsession with food, struggling

with body weight and shape are some signs of eating disorder. The diet of an athlete affects their

performance in sports. The nutrition plan is targeted in improving their health, body composure

and how their perform the exercises (Guest, et al. 2019). This may lead to developing eating

disorder as one strives to meet the required diet. Eating disorder mostly affects female athletes

more than males. Both male and female athletes who focuses on personal performances are at a

high risk of developing an eating disorder. when one develops a mentality that being thinner

makes a better athlete is a contributing factor that may lead a young athlete in developing an

eating disorder. having low self of how you look leads to the having an eating disorder. when

one has family members with the disorder, they are likely to develop the same eating disorder.

Based on the transition of college athletes from home to the school environment, the eating style

is disordered due to the stress caused by the pressure to perform well and also the demands of the

sport environment.

   What are potential physiological effects of eating disorders on sport performance

and overall health? How might these effects differ between genders, and individuals of

varying ages?

Physiological in sports is used to investigate the effects of the performed exercises on the

body structure and functioning. Once an athlete develops an eating disorder, they develop a low
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energy availability which is as a results of not eating enough food (Logue, et al. 2018). They

develop an intensive fear of adding more weight which reduces they performance in the field

since their concentration is on their weight not in the field. One’s health is affected negatively

since a habit of diet obsession and guidelines about diet develops. The body shape may increase

as the weight increases, this leads to the onset of anxiety and depression which deteriorates once

health. This mostly happens on young females more than males and the old females. Because

females are more insecure about their appearances more than the males and also it depends with

the age. Experiencing a long term of low energy availability affects the physiological results

which in turn leads to impairing the health and the performance of the athlete.

   How might you approach a situation where an eating disorder is suspected?

In case of eating disorder, I would first consider the type of the disorder and the

symptoms experienced. By that I will be able to address other health issues that are caused by

eating disorder. I will also advice that in case the condition doesn’t improve, treatment from a

health facility is vital. This will help develop an organized plan to the eating disorder which

enables one to manage the symptoms and regain a health appearance, and also maintain health

mentally and physically.

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References
El Ghoch, M., Soave, F., Calugi, S., & Dalle Grave, R. (2013). Eating disorders, physical fitness

and sport performance: A systematic review. Nutrients, 5(12), 5140-5160.

Guest, N. S., Horne, J., Vanderhout, S. M., & El-Sohemy, A. (2019). Sport nutrigenomics:

Personalized nutrition for athletic performance. Frontiers in nutrition, 6, 8.

Logue, D., Madigan, S. M., Delahunt, E., Heinen, M., Mc Donnell, S. J., & Corish, C. A. (2018).

Low energy availability in athletes: a review of prevalence, dietary patterns,

physiological health, and sports performance. Sports Medicine, 48(1), 73-96.