ANOREXIA NERVOSA AMONGST BALLERINAS

By: Rebecca Vitale

THIS IS ME AS A BALLERINA

AND THESE ARE CONSIDERED NORMAL BALLERINAS..SEE THE DIFFERENCE?

AND JUST IN CASE YOU DON’T, HERE IS A BETTER COMPARISON..

WHAT IS ANOREXIA NERVOSA?

Anorexia Nervosa is a common eating disorder that most often stems from a person’s extreme fear of gaining weight

Individuals will try and maintain a weight far less than normal

Extreme Measures: starvation, over exercising, bulimia

EMOTIONAL CAUSES

Focuses on food as a scapegoat for their underlying emotional issues

These issues may be an attempt to deal with perfectionism, self-control, or self-esteem issues

Self-Esteem can be link to how thin they are

MEDICAL CONDITIONS

In severe cases it can affect almost major organ systems in the body

Children: Worse than in adult because child has not yet finished growing

Height: can stunt growth Delayed Sexual development in girls

May stop getting their menstrual periods Cardiac Orthopedic Gastrointestinal

SIGNS

Severe weight loss Scant or absent menstrual periods Thinning Hair Dry skin Col or swollen Extremities Fatigue Low Blood Pressure Osteoporosis

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL SIGNS

Refusal to eat Memory loss Denial of seriousness of the issue OCD Depression

TREATMENT

Combination of: Psychotherapy Family therapy Medication

Person should be actively involved in treatment

BALLET AND ANOREXIA HISTORY

Previous studies have documented the correlation of diagnosable eating disorders among ballet dancers compared to the general population

Condition was 3 to 6 times higher among ballet dancers

Conclusion: Prevalence of binge eating, self-induced vomiting, laxative use are elevated in dancers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjuXFG3zI-E

STUDY #1 Objective: explore the correlation of symptomatology among

ballet dancers and individuals with restricting anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and no eating pathology

Procedure: 30 participants were recruited from three ballet companies Interviews were performed to determine diagnosis Current and past history of weight change, binge eating,

vomiting, laxative usage and exercise were obtained Results: 83% of dancers reported some form of eating

pathology Small difference in levels of RAN and BN in dancers compared to

control group

Conclusion: Dancers are more similar to individuals with eating disorders than to control individuals. Dancers showed higher levels of symptomatology relating to anorexia than the control group, but had similar levels of anorexia compared to control group

STUDY #2 Objective: Examine the presence of anorexia nervosa-like

symptoms in a group of 49 female ballet students from various school, and determine if the difference in schools is going to have an effect on the levels of anorexia over a period of time

Procedure: Demographic and dietary history questionnaires were administered Interviews were conducted depending on the students Eating Attitude

Test (EAT) “A case of anorexia was determined by systematically searching for

the key individual diagnostic features.”

Results: 4.1% of anorexia nervosa cases in the study Over 50% of the students were underweight and reported deliberate

attempts to lose weight during the term

Conclusion: Weight loss and anorexia symptoms can be attributed to not only a competitive environment but can vary according to performance expectations from each school.

OVERALL CONCLUSION

Symptomatology pertaining to anorexia are directly correlated to high levels of competition to achieve a certain body shape EXPECTIONS MATTER!

The results among ballerinas who are diagnosed with anorexia are slightly higher then non-ballerinas, but symptoms associated with anorexia are SIGNIFICATLY higher among ballerinas