Eating Disorders: public or silent enemy?

[sisinka]

Excellent thread. I have nothing much to add except that on a general mental plain, there are many issues that face athletes. I live with an athlete so I know.....
I think this article by Emmy Ma is very well done.

What led me to retire from a successful sports career at 20-years-old

Parity Intern and college student Emmy Ma is 21-years-old and already on her second career. The award-winning figure skater details the highs and lows...

impact.paritynow.co

I need to thank you twice, @CoyoteChris . For the first time for Emmy‘s article and for the second time for getting me to another article from the web through Emmy‘s story.

1) Emmy Ma was 21 years old in time when article was written, but she was very wise despite that young age. (She didn‘t directly tell that she was fighting with eating disorders, so I did not add her to the list.)

https://impact.paritynow.co/what-le...rP5LeA3RGsM-Pp3LfqTdsjexR6oQETDOn7eSm2M2dhUH0
I want to quote some of her ideas:

“It’s no surprise that somewhere along the way, I began to equate my value with how much success I attained in the figure skating world.“

“Mental health issues among figure skaters are rampant and nothing new, yet have been hardly talked about until recently.“

“Young, impressionable athletes are failed by a lack of education that could protect them from – and perhaps change – the culture that tells them that their worth is defined by the number of medals to their name.“


Interesting point from Emma‘s story...When she was out of figure skating community she did realise what was wrong and worked on corrections....BUT when she came back to figure skating community, all those unhealthy habits and opinions around her continued. Like nobody around her would realise that what led her to troubles were exactly those unhealthy habits and opinions.


2) https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...e-transformed-figure-skating-but-at-what-cost
- the main topic of this articles from 2020 is not what is this thread about, but I want to use some of Kiira Korpi‘s quotation:

“It’s a vicious cycle when you live inside the bubble,” says Kiira Korpi, a two-time Olympian for Finland who is now a psychology student at the New School in Manhattan and a children’s rights activist. “You don’t even realise how unhealthy or toxic some of the cultural norms are.”

“You grow up to believe if you get injured it’s because you’re weak. Or if your body or psychological state fails it’s because you are weak. “

“I was never educated on the effects of not getting your period. The expectation was that it was a good thing. Nobody was talking about the symptoms it can create, the psychological problems, the stress fractures that can happen due to the fact you don’t get enough energy and your hormonal function not working. So we need to call out the community for sending these unhealthy messages. This notion you should always restrict your food and always lose weight and no matter what you must restrict, restrict. That kind of messaging is so concerning.


ISU could consider a questionnaire for junior skaters of all cathegories – are they educated? About puberty? What happens when you try to stop puberty? What are stress fractures coming from? What are criterias for healthy food / bulimia / anorexia? How many water human one should drink per day? How many calories per day?...Maybe ISU would be shocked with answers...

I do remember that many years ago one skater from Asia was asked to choose – gold medal but living for short time OR no gold medal but having long life. The skater chose gold medal.

 

[sisinka]

1) https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/abs/10.1027/2151-2604/a000433?journalCode=zfp
- meta-analysis from 2021

"It is concluded that low self-esteem acts as a universal risk factor for different eating disorders."


2) https://www.psychologytoday.com/int...s/202204/low-self-esteem-and-eating-disorders
- article from 2022 by Riccardo Dalle Grave, M.D., head of the Department of Eating and Weight Disorders at the Villa Garda Hospital in Italy

"Most people with an eating disorder are highly self-critical as a result of their perceived failure to achieve their shape, weight, and eating control goals. This is a form of negative self-evaluation that can be described as “secondary” self-criticism because it occurs as a result of something else."


3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3761220/
- science article from 2013

"Puberty is one of the most frequently discussed risk periods for the development of eating disorders (more for girls than for boys - findings in boys have been much less consistent and suggest a smaller role for puberty in risk for eating disorders in boys)."


From articles of skaters (most of links above in the first posts) fighting with Eating Disorders and article about Emmy Ma, some things are repeating:

!!!!! Warning – if you are going through depression these days overjump skater’s comments, it is not nice at all…

LOW SELF-ESTEEM or comments leading to it:
- Emmy Ma - "It’s no surprise that somewhere along the way, I began to equate my value with how much success I attained in the figure skating world."

- Tanith Belbin - "As an ice dancer who wears tiny outfits and is often lifted by her partner, Belbin said that every extra pound seemed like 20."

- Jennifer Kirk - "Unfortunately, many skaters have really low self-esteem. After years of having their fate in the hands of judges and being pressured to look and act a certain way in order to achieve the best results, a skater's self-esteem becomes basically non-existent."

- Gabrielle Daleman - "I have broader shoulders than most figure skaters. I have muscles, I have bigger legs, and so it was 'You're not pretty enough, you're not graceful enough.' It was just a whole list of stuff, why I shouldn't be a skater, they told me I shouldn't continue skating because my dreams are just dreams, they would never be a reality,"

- Akiko Suzuki - "There were all these younger skaters coming along with good proportions, and I started wishing for longer legs. I got a real complex,"

- Emily Hayward - "Emily says she was told by someone in the sport that her increase in weight would jeopardise her partnership and therefore the ability to be a pairs skater. ...she was experiencing body dysmorphia - where she thought she was too heavy and had a false illusion of what she actually looked like."

- Harry Mattick - "I went from being a very confident, very outgoing, very self-assured individual and the way he treated me brought me very, very close to suicide." "I’d have massive panic attacks over glasses of water because I thought that would put my weight up. I developed a massive phobia of drinking it that lasted for years." "I thought if I can’t deal with his training, that’s because I’m weak."

- Julie Marcotte - "...until you start to overeat and you feel extreme guilt... you're still fighting for it because this [sport] is where your identity is and this is what you’re good at…"

- Adam Rippon - "When he was 10, his first coach told his mom that he would never be a top figure skater because of his “heavy bottom,” (https://www.waldeneatingdisorders.c...t-starving-himself-for-a-figure-skaters-body/)

- Gracie Gold - ”At first I didn’t want to come out about (mental health) because of the stigma, which made me feel like I was the only one who wasn’t strong enough,” (https://olympics.com/en/news/gracie-gold-weight-of-gold-hbo-mental-health-awareness)
"Therefore, if I had a bad training day then Gracie the person had a bad day. Gracie was a failure. Gracie was a loser. Gracie didn’t work hard." (https://www.allure.com/story/gracie-gold-olympics-mental-health-interview)

- Kiira Korpi - “You grow up to believe if you get injured it’s because you’re weak. Or if your body or psychological state fails it’s because you are weak. “

- Ashley Wagner - “At first I was just really disappointed in myself for letting one event in my life derail everything that I thought I knew was true about myself and how I saw my place in the world and how I felt about my own sense of worth and value. I think, as an athlete, it’s really easy to tie in your sense of self-worth with how successful you are in competition. “ (https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/ashley-wagner-depression-figure-skating)


ATTEMPTS TO FIGHT AGAINST PUBERTY:
- Tanith Belbin – "...disorder eating irregular eating habits that can be fueled by a distorted body image. Belbin said she had struggled with those issues since puberty. “I thought I was out of control and that the weight gain must be my fault,”

- Jennifer Kirk - "Often, once a skater goes through puberty their timing changes. This makes skaters freak out because what used to come so easily before they grew is now much more challenging...This can start a really tough cycle where a skater is constantly trying to achieve the size they were before puberty set in, which is incredibly unhealthy."

---------------------

ISU may consider another anonymous questionnare for both junior and senior skaters to find out how many skaters suffer from low self-esteem and other symptoms which are risk factors for Eating Disorders.

For example: How many times do you check your weight (3x per week, 1x per day, more than 3x per day...)? Did somebody from Figure skating community ever told you that you are fat / encouraged you to lose weight? Did your body fat percentage was measured first? Did somebody from Figure skating community ever told you that you are nobody not winning medals? ....

 

[DancingCactus]

What astonishes me is that all this is common knowledge nowadays. Eating disorders, self-esteem issues, body dismorphia...it all sounds so familiar, I think I've been reading about this since I was a teenager. And still, in the sports world as well as in show business this common knowledge has been ignored and some coaches and even parents have been actively encouraging or even forcing skaters to ruin their bodies and minds.

Every professional athlete has to follow a training regimen and has to watch what they eat to some degree of course, but nobody can convince me that putting constant pressure on skaters and telling them they are not good enough is making them into better skaters of happier people.

 

[icewhite]

Of course there is a relation between weight and sportive performance. I don't think it helps to deny that. However, what I find so astonishing, is that instead of trying to use our modern knowledge about this extremely complex topic, which involves so many factors and relations, and ask specialized nutrionists, endocrinologists, sports scientists etc. about it, it is treated in an incredibly reduced way, so reduced that it's actually more charlatanism than anything else. Lose weight - perform better - no, that's definitely not how it works, and one would think that at least every adult involved nowadays knows that, but obviously what has been learned and been passed on before is still stronger in many cases.

 

[moonvine]

1) https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/abs/10.1027/2151-2604/a000433?journalCode=zfp
- meta-analysis from 2021

"It is concluded that low self-esteem acts as a universal risk factor for different eating disorders."


2) https://www.psychologytoday.com/int...s/202204/low-self-esteem-and-eating-disorders
- article from 2022 by Riccardo Dalle Grave, M.D., head of the Department of Eating and Weight Disorders at the Villa Garda Hospital in Italy

"Most people with an eating disorder are highly self-critical as a result of their perceived failure to achieve their shape, weight, and eating control goals. This is a form of negative self-evaluation that can be described as “secondary” self-criticism because it occurs as a result of something else."


3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3761220/
- science article from 2013

"Puberty is one of the most frequently discussed risk periods for the development of eating disorders (more for girls than for boys - findings in boys have been much less consistent and suggest a smaller role for puberty in risk for eating disorders in boys)."


From articles of skaters (most of links above in the first posts) fighting with Eating Disorders and article about Emmy Ma, some things are repeating:

!!!!! Warning – if you are going through depression these days overjump skater’s comments, it is not nice at all…

LOW SELF-ESTEEM or comments leading to it:
- Emmy Ma - "It’s no surprise that somewhere along the way, I began to equate my value with how much success I attained in the figure skating world."

- Tanith Belbin - "As an ice dancer who wears tiny outfits and is often lifted by her partner, Belbin said that every extra pound seemed like 20."

- Jennifer Kirk - "Unfortunately, many skaters have really low self-esteem. After years of having their fate in the hands of judges and being pressured to look and act a certain way in order to achieve the best results, a skater's self-esteem becomes basically non-existent."

- Gabrielle Daleman - "I have broader shoulders than most figure skaters. I have muscles, I have bigger legs, and so it was 'You're not pretty enough, you're not graceful enough.' It was just a whole list of stuff, why I shouldn't be a skater, they told me I shouldn't continue skating because my dreams are just dreams, they would never be a reality,"

- Akiko Suzuki - "There were all these younger skaters coming along with good proportions, and I started wishing for longer legs. I got a real complex,"

- Emily Hayward - "Emily says she was told by someone in the sport that her increase in weight would jeopardise her partnership and therefore the ability to be a pairs skater. ...she was experiencing body dysmorphia - where she thought she was too heavy and had a false illusion of what she actually looked like."

- Harry Mattick - "I went from being a very confident, very outgoing, very self-assured individual and the way he treated me brought me very, very close to suicide." "I’d have massive panic attacks over glasses of water because I thought that would put my weight up. I developed a massive phobia of drinking it that lasted for years." "I thought if I can’t deal with his training, that’s because I’m weak."

- Julie Marcotte - "...until you start to overeat and you feel extreme guilt... you're still fighting for it because this [sport] is where your identity is and this is what you’re good at…"

- Adam Rippon - "When he was 10, his first coach told his mom that he would never be a top figure skater because of his “heavy bottom,” (https://www.waldeneatingdisorders.c...t-starving-himself-for-a-figure-skaters-body/)

- Gracie Gold - ”At first I didn’t want to come out about (mental health) because of the stigma, which made me feel like I was the only one who wasn’t strong enough,” (https://olympics.com/en/news/gracie-gold-weight-of-gold-hbo-mental-health-awareness)
"Therefore, if I had a bad training day then Gracie the person had a bad day. Gracie was a failure. Gracie was a loser. Gracie didn’t work hard." (https://www.allure.com/story/gracie-gold-olympics-mental-health-interview)

- Kiira Korpi - “You grow up to believe if you get injured it’s because you’re weak. Or if your body or psychological state fails it’s because you are weak. “

- Ashley Wagner - “At first I was just really disappointed in myself for letting one event in my life derail everything that I thought I knew was true about myself and how I saw my place in the world and how I felt about my own sense of worth and value. I think, as an athlete, it’s really easy to tie in your sense of self-worth with how successful you are in competition. “ (https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/ashley-wagner-depression-figure-skating)


ATTEMPTS TO FIGHT AGAINST PUBERTY:
- Tanith Belbin – "...disorder eating irregular eating habits that can be fueled by a distorted body image. Belbin said she had struggled with those issues since puberty. “I thought I was out of control and that the weight gain must be my fault,”

- Jennifer Kirk - "Often, once a skater goes through puberty their timing changes. This makes skaters freak out because what used to come so easily before they grew is now much more challenging...This can start a really tough cycle where a skater is constantly trying to achieve the size they were before puberty set in, which is incredibly unhealthy."

---------------------

ISU may consider another anonymous questionnare for both junior and senior skaters to find out how many skaters suffer from low self-esteem and other symptoms which are risk factors for Eating Disorders.

For example: How many times do you check your weight (3x per week, 1x per day, more than 3x per day...)? Did somebody from Figure skating community ever told you that you are fat / encouraged you to lose weight? Did your body fat percentage was measured first? Did somebody from Figure skating community ever told you that you are nobody not winning medals? ....

I'm crying......my beautiful Gracie....

And I have to wonder how many women have retired due to these issues and just not come forward about it (their choice of course)

 

[moonvine]

Of course there is a relation between weight and sportive performance. I don't think it helps to deny that. However, what I find so astonishing, is that instead of trying to use our modern knowledge about this extremely complex topic, which involves so many factors and relations, and ask specialized nutrionists, endocrinologists, sports scientists etc. about it, it is treated in an incredibly reduced way, so reduced that it's actually more charlatanism than anything else. Lose weight - perform better - no, that's definitely not how it works, and one would think that at least every adult involved nowadays knows that, but obviously what has been learned and been passed on before is still stronger in many cases.

The University of Oregon has this policy, which I think is great and should be universal.

Oregon Ducks athletic programs no longer can monitor athletes’ weight, body fat percentage

Athletes can choose to be tested. But results of the test “should not be reported beyond the student-athlete, dietitian and relevant medical personnel."

www.oregonlive.com

 

[sisinka]

... Akiko Suzuki once said senior women can't use the same jump techniques as junior girls or men. Their bodies are no longer small and light and can't rotate as fast as they used to. They would underrotate if they still jump like a junior girl, but they can't make jumps big by muscle power like men can. Senior women need to convert kinetic energy of speed to make jumps bigger, but the more speed you have, the more difficult to control timing, angle, etc. The ice conditions can vary from rink to rink, and the same ice can change depending on the temperature. And a skater's sense of speed can be affected by many factors like nervousness, jet lag, hormone, etc. They tend to have less speed when they are nervous. If you have too much speed, you will end up over-rotating and might fall, too. Yuna Kim was exceptionally good at controlling speed at any rink or any competition.

Great post.
I agree. Child's body is small and thin in comparison with adult's body. That is why children are able to land jumps executed even with wrong technique very often. On the contrary skaters with adult's body are falling doing the same mistake.

Most female skaters are afraid of falling hard on ice like that and rather choose to keep their bodies as light as possible to jump like they used to, like Mao Asada and Satoko. I also remember Elena was painfully thin at 2013 World, but can't find a video on YouTube now.

Everybody is afraid of hard fall. That is natural. Please, don't underestimate ladies. They do worry but they go and jump especially in top level sport.

After all in pair cathegory those are ladies who are thrown away and are in risky positions in lifts...and they go for it.

Nobody can beat puberty, which is natural process nobody can avoid. It can be postponed suffering from health consequences. Even girls naturally thin have different (bigger) size as an adults in comparison with their child's years.

I don't have knowledge about Mao and Satoko's nutrition. If ladies were eating and were that thin, OK. If they sacrificed health for being "as light as possible"...

Both Mao and Satoko had troubles with right technique and their lower dynamics in take off (especially Mao's) was not allowing them to get height of jump. In my opinion this was the right way to go...correct technique and let's see if it will lead to fully rotated jumps.

If I remember correctly both ladies were trying to correct technique in their later seasons (but not during puberty period).

 

[moonvine]

Please add Ryan Dunk to your list.

Eating disorders are ravaging young people

AN EATING DISORDER epidemic is growing. Clinicians are seeing eating disorders in children at younger and younger ages, and now, due to the

commonwealthmagazine.org

 

[sisinka]

The University of Oregon has this policy, which I think is great and should be universal.

Oregon Ducks athletic programs no longer can monitor athletes’ weight, body fat percentage

Athletes can choose to be tested. But results of the test “should not be reported beyond the student-athlete, dietitian and relevant medical personnel."

www.oregonlive.com

Interesting reading. Thank you for posting.

I tried to find some numbers about body fat percentage in case of those young athletes. I found this:
https://www.oregonlive.com/trackand...hin-oregon-ducks-track-and-field-program.html
- athletes didn't want to be named but two of them gave some information about body fat percentage
- The American Council on Exercise suggests an ideal body fat percentage for a female athlete to between 14% and 20%.
- One athlete says when she was given her first DEXA scan at Oregon, she already had not had a menstrual period in a year and a half. She says the nutritionist knew that.
The scan showed her body fat percentage at 16%. She was told by the nutritionist she should consider lowering it to about 13%. The athlete consulted her personal doctor, who advised her not to try to lower her body fat percentage any further.
- another athlete - After her first DEXA scan, the nutritionist told her she couldn’t travel to away track meets unless her body fat level was below 12%.


There is one thing we didn't take into account, probably.
We were expecting that people push the lowest weight rules because of lack of knowledge. So logically when they find out the true about ideal weight and different body somatotypes, they will change their approach.

Here we have an example of athletic coach who pushes lower fat percentage despite the fact that university athlete’s fat percentage IS IN NORMAL RANGE and going down leads to health troubles, so he forces his students to self-destruction.

It is good to try to find the way how to protect athletes (Oregon's requirements of not sharing weight and body fat percantage with coaches), but I am not sure that such people like the coach from the article will not find another way how to pressure his athletes.

 

[sisinka]

Please add Ryan Dunk to your list.

Eating disorders are ravaging young people

AN EATING DISORDER epidemic is growing. Clinicians are seeing eating disorders in children at younger and younger ages, and now, due to the

commonwealthmagazine.org

He is at the list. Thank you for the link of the article.

 

[sisinka]

I'm crying......my beautiful Gracie....

And I have to wonder how many women have retired due to these issues and just not come forward about it (their choice of course)

I think number is big, but real result is skewed with the fact that Eating Disorders are leading to multiple health troubles including musculoskeletal injuries fractures included, mental ilnesses and so on...

So when skater finishes career because of an injury, probably it is not investigated whether skater suffers from Eating Disorders and how big impact it could have to career ending injury.

Ryan Dunk article: https://commonwealthmagazine.org/health-care/eating-disorders-are-ravaging-young-people/
- "I have seen it end people’s careers and contribute to injuries, illnesses, and other comorbidities and mental health disorders."

Some science studies confirm association between Eating Disorders and injuries, but not all of them...

1) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37030667/
- science article from 2023 which looked at 5 recent studies - the result was not clear - some study confirmed association between Eating Disorders and injuries, some didn't.

ON THE CONTRARY:

2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2865962/
- a science article from 2010
- 163 high school female athletes (track and field, cross-country running, soccer, softball, swimming, volleyball, tennis, and lacrosse)
- In this sample of high school female athletes disordered eating, oligomenorrhea/amenorrhea, and low bone mineral density were associated with musculoskeletal injury.

Musculoskeletal injuries can affect any part of the human body including; bones, joints, cartilages, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and other soft tissues.

3) https://www.mccallumplace.com/programs-athletes/eating-disorder/causes-effects/
- Eating Disorder Treatment Center
- Eating Disorder Effects on an Athlete's Sport Performance:
: Inadequate carbohydrate intake results in increased use of protein as fuel.
: Inadequate protein intake for athletes with eating disorders can lead to muscle weakness, wasting, and injury (increased risk of musculoskeletal injuries due to inability to build/repair muscle tissue damage).

 

[Bluediamonds09]

I've been watching skating videos on YouTube when I can, and let me just say, the comments about weight are so very cruel. These people (I believe it's actual people, not bots) are monsters. "His partner needs to lose weight, she is too heavy." "This girl looks like a bowling ball." "Why did she eat all through the off season instead of training?" It is extremely public!
I do find it interesting that a large amount of these comments are in the russian language, and I admit I have hit the translate button when I should have ignored it.
The russian coaches are also very open about the weight of skaters, many from other countries. But there are many digs at Valieva's New body, how she's lazy and needs to lose weight. No one tries to hide their thoughts on her either, it's just there in print like no big deal.

 

[sisinka]

I've been watching skating videos on YouTube when I can, and let me just say, the comments about weight are so very cruel. These people (I believe it's actual people, not bots) are monsters. "His partner needs to lose weight, she is too heavy." "This girl looks like a bowling ball." "Why did she eat all through the off season instead of training?" It is extremely public!
I do find it interesting that a large amount of these comments are in the russian language, and I admit I have hit the translate button when I should have ignored it.
The russian coaches are also very open about the weight of skaters, many from other countries. But there are many digs at Valieva's New body, how she's lazy and needs to lose weight. No one tries to hide their thoughts on her either, it's just there in print like no big deal.

Comments on Youtube are anonymous which is partially the reason why some people are speaking badly about skaters.

As to commentators I remember that some Russian coaches mentioned weight issues in past.

In our country we have a commentator and his guest - coach (who trained Olympic medalist from 90s), they are commentating at Eurosport channel. Especially in past they were talking about weight issues more frequently. With time it became less frequent (figure skating fans were writing them e-mails to stop it).

https://www.sport.ru/figurnoe_katan...-ves-ey-nujno-privesti-sebya-v-/article532939
In October 2022 Olympic Champion in Ice Dance Natalia Bestemyanova criticized Kamila for having higher weight (Bestemyanova was thinking that putting on weight was the result of Kamila's wrong mental state).

https://www.championat.com/figuresk...kovskaya-o-skandalnyh-slovah-pro-valievu.html
In September 2023 manager and producer Yana Rudkovskaya criticized Kamila's weight pointing to the difference between ideal weight in sport and ideal weight for life. Yana Rudkovskaya mentioned that her own long time weight was 51 kilograms (having 168 cm which means that her BMI was 18.06...below normal range).

I didn't mention that some other well-known people or coaches / consultants would criticized Kamila's body building.

https://sportrbc.ru/news/6506d8fd9a7947ad3f37f22c
Tatiana Tarasova protected Kamila against Mrs. Rudkovskaya's words, saying that Kamila grown-up and got different body which is normal.

 

[icewhite]

Just ignore Russian comments on weight. I thought there was a change coming in Russia, too, but who knows, for now I consider it a lost case.
I'd be happy if things changed in some other countries.

 

[sisinka]

Thank you @moonvine for sending the link. The article contains not only Ryan's own experience but also many interesting facts which I didn't know about.

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/health-care/eating-disorders-are-ravaging-young-people/
- article is from March 2022
- Ryan Dunk describes his experience and opinions

"I have seen it end people’s careers and contribute to injuries, illnesses, and other comorbidities and mental health disorders.

I have seen simply drinking “detox teas” escalate into using products like laxatives, ultimately resulting in bingeing-and-purging behaviors.

I feel fortunate that I never bought diet pills or muscle-building supplements to try and change my body – but the pressure and temptation was certainly there.

Most people don’t understand or fully grasp just how harmful these products can be, how vulnerable minors are to developing an eating disorder, and how much young people are being targeted by a predatory industry.

According to a recent study, young women who reported using diet pills are nearly four times as likely to be diagnosed with an eating disorder within just a few years after starting to use diet pills compared to those who do not use them.

What’s more, weight-loss and muscle-building supplements are so under-regulated that they often go to market containing toxic ingredients, including undeclared and banned pharmaceuticals."

Ryan Dunk - Graduate of Suffolk University with a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology, today he works in a hospital as a Research Assistent (from Linkedin)

1) https://scholar.google.cz/scholar?h...=#d=gs_qabs&t=1698939097020&u=#p=9o9TU3ppcsMJ
- Journal of the Health Resource Center, 9, 2005
- Taking the over-the-counter diet pill for an extended period of time can cause psychological dependence as well as negative health effects. A period longer than 4 to 6 weeks indicates possible addiction to the substance.
- Long-term use of weight loss products can also cause dependence and many can interfere with normal body functions.
- Partial paralysis of the intestine can be a direct result of laxatives being over used or abused.
- Diuretic abuse will actually create a rebound effect and the consumer will become more bloated and swollen.
- Most tests conducted on ingredients show no long-term weight loss benefits.
- Manufacturers of diet pills are not required to test products or ingredients for safety or effectiveness, which puts the consumer at a health risk...
- Past popular components were ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine; both now banned because of reported fatalities and serious negative side effects.


2) https://scholar.google.cz/scholar?h...=#d=gs_qabs&t=1698939504782&u=#p=igmAk8BTUz0J
- science article from 2010
- Medical problems associated with laxative abuse include electrolyte and acid/base changes that can involve the renal and cardiovascular systems and may become life threatening. The renin-aldosterone system becomes activated due to the loss of fluid, which leads to oedema and acute weight gain when the laxative is discontinued. This can result in reinforcing further laxative abuse when a patient feels bloated and has gained weight.


3) https://breathelifehealingcenters.com/eating-disorder-treatment/laxative-abuse/
‐ Breathe Life Healing Centers
- Continuing to participate in laxative abuse can cause an individual to experience a number of severe health consequences, such as:
Kidney/liver damage
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Colon infection/cancer
Blurred vision
Muscle weakness
Tremors
Stretched colon
Nerve damage in the heart


4) https://scholar.google.cz/scholar?h...=#d=gs_qabs&t=1698954735460&u=#p=-XlQobz-7fMJ
- article from 2015
- ...They also assume that dietary supplements are safe. However, this simply isn’t the case when it comes to sports supplements. Several reviews on the contents of such supplements have estimated a contamination rate with stimulants and/or anabolic-androgenic steroids of 14–18% and higher.
- ...cardiovascular risks and mood disturbance are common side-effects for adolescents.
- ...Anabolic agents can also cause premature epiphyseal closure (which is permanent), brain re-modelling, and an increased risk of maladaptive behaviors and neurological disorders.
- ...For stimulants, increases in blood pressure, loss of appetite, emotional instability, nervousness, jitteriness, and social withdrawal are common side-effects in youth...


Long term using and abuse especially have always side effects, that is nothing new. But I am surprised that in the 21st century we have large expansion of products who are not safe, but are easily available and widely used. Despite the fact that science articles I found are not the newest, Ryan's article is from 2022 and he still names this topic being a big problem mentioning that products are neither safe nor controlled.

 

[sisinka]

Ryan Dunk: "What’s more, weight-loss and muscle-building supplements are so under-regulated..."

Also energy drinks come in my mind, it can lead to troubles as well... compensating lack of energy and exhaustion using energy drinks...

1) https://scholar.google.cz/scholar?h...=#d=gs_qabs&t=1699011110599&u=#p=ODoyCFX4kCkJ
- science review from 2021
- The rise in energy drinks intake in the general population and athletes has been achieved with smart and effective marketing strategies
- ...energy drinks ingestion improved physical performance in the following activities: muscle strength and endurance, endurance exercise test, jumping and sport specif actions, but it did not any improved physical performance in sprinting.
- Energy drinks are often consumed during conditions with increased circulating catecholamines, such as during sport performance, sleep deprivation, and stress-related situations, which may potentiate the stimulant effect and lead to more serious adverse effects.
- The most common adverse effects are associated with the cardiovascular and neurological systems.
- ... energy drinks can cause all kinds of arrhythmias... As a long-term effect, they are able to induce morphological changes in the heart muscle.
- ...They were associated with a greater risk of moderate and serious levels of psychological distress, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.
- ...frequent energy drinks consumption was associated with allergic diseases, such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis.
- Energy drinks induce diuresis and slow fluid absorption... = dehydration (particularly during hot weather).
- ...health care providers and teaching staff should inform both parents and adolescents that energy drinks have no therapeutic benefit at a young age and may lead to serious health events, including sudden death.


2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33211984/
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis from Sports Health 2021
- 32 studies and 96,549 individuals were included
ENERGY DRINKS AND ADVERSE EVENTS:
- in the pediatric population were: insomnia, stress and depressive mood
- in the adult population were: insomnia, jitteriness/restlessness/shaking hands, and gastrointestinal upset.


3) https://www.researchgate.net/public...mong_students_of_Medical_University_of_Lublin
- science study from 2016
- SOME CONTRAINDICATIONS MENTIONED: pregnant women, hypertension, gastric and duodenal disorders, being of an age below 18, diabetes mellitus.


4) https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/spilling-beans-how-much-caffeine-too-much
- How much caffeine?
- For healthy adults, the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) has cited 400 milligrams a day — that's about four or five cups of coffee.
- The FDA has not set a level for children, but the American Academy of Pediatrics discourages the consumption of caffeine and other stimulants by children and adolescents.


5) https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/parents-perk-dangers-caffeine-teens
- Adolescents ages 12 to 18 should cap daily caffeine intake at 100 mg (the equivalent of about one cup of coffee, one to two cups of tea, or two to three cans of soda).

One 250 ml of Red Bull Energy Drinks contains 80 mg of caffeine, about the same amount as in a cup of home-brewed coffee.

 

[sisinka]

I was looking for some medical information on ISU pages:
https://www.isu.org/clean-sport/medical :

- it has part called Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) with consensus statement (https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/48/7/491 ) and
Female Athlete Health interactive learning.

- another part - Healthy skaters - includes two youtube videos – Healthy skater Seminar – injury prevention from 2019 and Healthy skater from 2018 (both videos ARE NOT containing eating issues or mental issues)

The only topic which gave me an idea that MAYBE mental issues / eating disorders will be mentioned - Injuries in Figure skaters (well, it would be called diseases instead I guess):
Doctor was saying: “I suppose that you know about the basic of most common injuries in figure skating becuse you are top coaches of top athletes – you know about stress fractures, ankle sprains, low back pain…hip / pelvis injuries, knee injuries, arthropathy…“


I do believe that all injuries above are common, but I tend to think that eating issues and mental issues are frequent a lot and deserve to be mentioned. It would be nice to open these topics publicly during ISU seminars which could slowly lead to some kind of prevention.

 

[Dawn825]

Not to mention the use of puberty blockers in some camps to force the issue...

 

[Skating91]

Not to mention the use of puberty blockers in some camps to force the issue...

I watched an event recently and saw some suspicious things. One skater was 20 and another 17 it didn't seem right.

 

[moonvine]

Not to mention the use of puberty blockers in some camps to force the issue...

Is that legal?