Suzanne Abraham (1996) describes how dancers feel, and what their physical appearance should look like. Researchers have found that among ballet dancers, it is common to have an eating disorder. Dancers want to be thin and have a ballet dancer body, and not everybody is born the same way to have that lean body type. Therefore, girls start bad habits, such as throwing up and not eating, just so they can have that ballet body type. Gelsey Kirkland, a ballet dancer, explains, “I starved by day, then binged on junk food and threw up by night; I took injections of pregnant cows` urine, reputed to be a miraculous diet aid; I stuffed myself with laxatives, thyroid pills, and celery juice; I emptied myself with enemas and steam baths,” (Kirkland &
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Moreover, dancers are easily injured because they aren't giving their bodies protein, which their body needs to create ATP. Ballet dancers need strong ankles to go on pointe because they are relying on their feet and ankles to not only hold their body weight, but to perform extensive technique. Most common injuries that ballet dancers obtain come from their ankles and knees. It is hard to prevent ballet dancers to form this eating disorders because it is their way to life. From experience of friends, I can relate to some of these statements. It is true that dancers ankles easily get fractured due to being weak, which leads back to the disorder (Abraham, 1996). Reading the different risk factors of eating disorders among ballet dancers was a big eye opener for me. “The current study compared the prevalence of disordered eating attitudes and behaviors among adolescent ballet dancers at national, regional, and local schools.” (Thomas, Keel, & Heatherton, 2005) Their method is gathering a group of female ballet students who have symptoms of an eating disorder. The researcher was figuring out what type of dancer experiences an eating disorder, and to what extent. The researcher hoped to figure out whether
Moreover, dancers are easily injured because they aren't giving their bodies protein, which their body needs to create ATP. Ballet dancers need strong ankles to go on pointe because they are relying on their feet and ankles to not only hold their body weight, but to perform extensive technique. Most common injuries that ballet dancers obtain come from their ankles and knees. It is hard to prevent ballet dancers to form this eating disorders because it is their way to life. From experience of friends, I can relate to some of these statements. It is true that dancers ankles easily get fractured due to being weak, which leads back to the disorder (Abraham, 1996). Reading the different risk factors of eating disorders among ballet dancers was a big eye opener for me. “The current study compared the prevalence of disordered eating attitudes and behaviors among adolescent ballet dancers at national, regional, and local schools.” (Thomas, Keel, & Heatherton, 2005) Their method is gathering a group of female ballet students who have symptoms of an eating disorder. The researcher was figuring out what type of dancer experiences an eating disorder, and to what extent. The researcher hoped to figure out whether