Issues in Youth Sport: An Analysis of the Film Perfect Body
The movie Perfect Body includes important themes evident in society today. It is about a young female, Andie Bradley, specializing in gymnastics and the challenges she faces during her career. The movie focuses on Andie’s desire to fit into her perfect ideal. She faces pressure from her coach to lose weight and win competitions. Andie develops a perfectionist mentality that in turn fuels her eating disorder. Ultimately, Andie sees a decline in her performance and due to her early burnout she is unable to compete. The themes in this film include coach pressure, unhealthy perfectionism, athletic burnout and eating disorders. The film uses these themes to demonstrate issues that are prevalent …show more content…
Perfectionism is subjective and to the main character of this film, it means attaining the ideal physique to compete in gymnastics. This concept of perfectionism is not exclusive just to Andie; it is prevalent in all aspects of athletics. In sports, the desire to be perfect or excellent often is seen as the pathway to success. Andie Bradley also believes that by attaining the perfect body she will reach her goal of competing in the Olympics. Andie’s unhealthy perfectionism only led to short-term success and later leading her to injuries, fainting and burnout from gymnastics. Research indicates that the type of perfectionism, unhealthy or healthy, is a determinant of the ultimate outcome the athlete …show more content…
Andie develops an eating disorder after she feels pressured by her coach to lose weight. In a high-risk sport such as gymnastics eating disorders are not uncommon. Gymnastics is an elite sport highly focused on aesthetics and leads to many athletes being over conscious of their body image. There are healthy ways to maintain a lean body image but Andie learns a way that she finds easier. She deprives herself of food and over exercises in order to lose weight. This unhealthy habit weakens muscles, bones and strength of an athlete.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), women are especially prone to developing the female athlete triad. The triad consists of disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis. In the film, all three of these factors are present as Andie faints and her doctor states it is all due to her eating habits. The article Eating Disorders and Gymnastics by Sarah Robertson (2015) states how gymnasts think they will be thinner by eating less food. Athletes who deprive themselves of food end up draining themselves of energy, lowering their performance and increasing their risk of long-term
The movie Perfect Body includes important themes evident in society today. It is about a young female, Andie Bradley, specializing in gymnastics and the challenges she faces during her career. The movie focuses on Andie’s desire to fit into her perfect ideal. She faces pressure from her coach to lose weight and win competitions. Andie develops a perfectionist mentality that in turn fuels her eating disorder. Ultimately, Andie sees a decline in her performance and due to her early burnout she is unable to compete. The themes in this film include coach pressure, unhealthy perfectionism, athletic burnout and eating disorders. The film uses these themes to demonstrate issues that are prevalent …show more content…
Perfectionism is subjective and to the main character of this film, it means attaining the ideal physique to compete in gymnastics. This concept of perfectionism is not exclusive just to Andie; it is prevalent in all aspects of athletics. In sports, the desire to be perfect or excellent often is seen as the pathway to success. Andie Bradley also believes that by attaining the perfect body she will reach her goal of competing in the Olympics. Andie’s unhealthy perfectionism only led to short-term success and later leading her to injuries, fainting and burnout from gymnastics. Research indicates that the type of perfectionism, unhealthy or healthy, is a determinant of the ultimate outcome the athlete …show more content…
Andie develops an eating disorder after she feels pressured by her coach to lose weight. In a high-risk sport such as gymnastics eating disorders are not uncommon. Gymnastics is an elite sport highly focused on aesthetics and leads to many athletes being over conscious of their body image. There are healthy ways to maintain a lean body image but Andie learns a way that she finds easier. She deprives herself of food and over exercises in order to lose weight. This unhealthy habit weakens muscles, bones and strength of an athlete.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), women are especially prone to developing the female athlete triad. The triad consists of disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis. In the film, all three of these factors are present as Andie faints and her doctor states it is all due to her eating habits. The article Eating Disorders and Gymnastics by Sarah Robertson (2015) states how gymnasts think they will be thinner by eating less food. Athletes who deprive themselves of food end up draining themselves of energy, lowering their performance and increasing their risk of long-term