Hana Wilmonen

H&S 490
Brown
10 February 2023
Partners and Organizations

My health topic is focusing on eating disorders and what the consequences/benefits are in
female bodybuilders. The reason I’m interested in this topic is because I myself used to have a
form of eating disorder and now I’m currently training to become a bodybuilder. There are many
connections between aesthetic sports and eating disorders that result in problematic chronic
issues later. Individuals who are impacted by this are both male and female bodybuilders, but I
will be focusing on the health impact of just females.
Bodybuilding is a huge part of the fitness industry and many people with aesthetic sport
goals typically aim for becoming a bodybuilder. It’s important to have partners because there are
so many factors and variables that influence what goes on in bodybuilders and their training.
This sport is difficult to do alone, and I personally find it more problematic to not have people
who help or are supportive of individuals competing in bodybuilding (or even just the training
factor). When bringing people together, I can learn how people work best with each other and
how some may influence others differently. I can learn from my friends & family, coaches,
nutritionists, personal trainers, and those who have already competed. They can all teach me
different variables needed for bodybuilding and what happens as a result both mentally and
physically.
I believe the most influential people in the bodybuilding industry are those who have
already competed and have the experience. Following these comrades, coaches are also very
influential in a technical way. They create the training plan, manage the individual training, and
basically manage the individual’s daily life plans. This is because almost everything in our daily
life can influence the success of individuals. Since diet is an extremely important factor in their
training, certified nutritionists or coaches with a experienced nutritional background are
essential.

Directly affected are those who are competing/training because they are mentally and
physically changing their body composition to be judged. Others that are affected may be those
who are close to the individuals training. This is because training and diet can affect an
individuals mood and attitudes towards others and this could be good or bad. The World Health
Organization did a clinical treatment trial that was randomized to look at how intense training
influence mental and physical factors of individuals (https://trialsearch.who.int/Trial2.aspx?
TrialID=RBR-3ktg93) . They found that there was a reduction in the values of fatigue indicators,
increased muscle strength performance, and an increased quality of life (this factor was based on
the comparison between pre and post-intervention measurements). This is an example of a good
outcome of bodybuilding or intense training in general, however there are some negative factors
as well.

In terms of the body building community itself, the International Federation of Body-
Building and Fitness (IFBB - https://ifbb.com/) is a governing body for bodybuilding and fitness
that manages the sports events and the rules/protocols of the sport. Additional organizations
include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA - https://www.fda.gov/food/dietary-
supplements) relating to the diet and supplemental aspects of bodybuilding and the rules they
must follow (or not follow) based off what is banned or what is the most beneficial in their
training. The FDA is a really good government source in determining why certain things are
banned or not banned and connecting it with the rules and what supplements are prohibited in the
IFBB.