WAG Told she gained weight

[LMV]

Thanks for this post - great information that bears repeating - and glad to see you back.

Thanks! Our daughter is gearing up for another L10 season. She finally has a "real" floor routine and is actually looking forward to competing it. She also convinced her little three year old sister that a gym is just a cool indoor playground so she is taking a pre-school class and we may be reluctant gym parents for years to come. [Or the pool may win out as an even cooler place as she loves the water. I guess we'll see…]

 

[txgymfan]

Glad to hear your daughter is doing well and convincing your little one to follow her footsteps. Eating disorders are scary. I see the patients at the children's hospital where I volunteer.

 

[MaryA]

Yes, that was the book!

 

[gymdog]

Thanks! Our daughter is gearing up for another L10 season. She finally has a "real" floor routine and is actually looking forward to competing it. She also convinced her little three year old sister that a gym is just a cool indoor playground so she is taking a pre-school class and we may be reluctant gym parents for years to come. [Or the pool may win out as an even cooler place as she loves the water. I guess we'll see…]

I am so excited for your daughter! Good luck this season and...the next 10 seasons? ;p

 

[Bajanswife]

My 10 yo gymnast is a stocky, muscular build so she feels fat next to her skinny friends. She also has an archy back that causes her belly to protrude when she's standing up and not thinking of her posture. She pinches her belly and shows me how "fat" she is all the time. Luckily she loves food and isn't likely to stop eating anytime soon! I will pay very close attention if I see her habits changing.

There's a girl we know who was a little chubby as a pre-teen - now she looks like a walking skeleton. Either something is seriously wrong with her health or she's just not eating. She does ballet and jazz and she and her slim friends hang out at our yacht club before and after dance in their leos with shorts (it's the tropics, kids walk around wearing very little here) - I am guessing she felt like the "fat friend", especially so exposed, and decided to do something about it, but she's taken it too far. I hope her mom is getting help for her.

 

[BlairBob]

Well, it makes sense to list weight and height for male athletes due to talent scouts for many of the guys that are in a sport that has a pro level like most of the ball sports or weightclass sports.

Personally, if I were an owner, Id go into damage control mode with a coach like that.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Hmm, iwannacoach, the thought that we may be swinging too far the other way, have become too sensitive to the weight issue is very interesting. I think the appropriateness of the discussion can vary greatly based on the age of the gymnast in question, but gymnasts ARE athletes. And beginning in high school and college, weight is a common data point when discussing an athlete's attributes.

Is it ever acceptable to discuss the weight of a college athlete/gymnast? This got me thinking, so went to the Stanford website to look at rosters for different sports. In a quick search, found that they list the weights for football, baseball, wrestling and men's basketball, but do not list the weights on ANY of their female sports teams' rosters. I am truly curious, why is the weight of a male basketball player relevant but not a female basketball player? Why is a baseball player's weight relevant but not a softball player's?

because...only 1% of reported disordered eating is in the male population. it is very difficult for a male to become anorexic.

 

[gymdog]

because...only 1% of reported disordered eating is in the male population. it is very difficult for a male to become anorexic.

Do you have a source for the 1% statistic?

Posting female college age athlete's weight online doesn't seem likely to lead to clinical anorexia, either. Plus online profiles are often self reported questionnaires, it's not like the trainers are updating it to the pound weekly. I don't really see why weight is reported anyway as I've never really looked up any athlete's weight. I'm more curious about height, but not really weight, unless it's relevant to the sport like there's a weight class. Basketball, gymnastics, the weight is irrelevant. Even football. It's easy enough to guess. There are bigger guys and smaller guys. I don't need to know whether he's 255 or 268.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

I coach teenage girls (12-15). At the end of practice they were stretching and chatting and I was helping one girl so I heard everything they talked. They started by talking about school lunches and then some of them mentioned that they sometimes skips the healthy lunch and go to supermarket to buy junk food like donuts, croissants and stuff. I stayed quiet even if I would have wanted to say many things about that habit! Then they started to talk about candy. Two of the girls told they eat a BIG bag of candy EVERY DAY! I was shocked! I couldn't help talking anymore and told them that what they just said sounds really, really bad. I recommended them to stop eating candy every day and only eat it on weekend or something but they said they just cannot stop. They also told me they had lied to the school nurse about how much they eat sugar. I asked how on earth their parents allow them to eat that much candy and they said their parents don't care or they don't know.

What should I do?? Should I contact their parents or not? We have had some anorectic gymnast in our club before and I'm sure the parents would hate me if I pointed out that their teens have serious problems with healthy nutrition.

They aren't fat because they exercise 5-6 days a week but I'm worried what will happen when they'll eventually quit and not burn as many calories as now.

I have also noticed that they are not getting stronger even if we condition 5 days a week. I think it may be because they only eat carbohydrates and not protein.

 

[Faith]

because...only 1% of reported disordered eating is in the male population. it is very difficult for a male to become anorexic.

It's just as easy, just less likely. Traditionally there is not the pressure on men to be thin, it's quite a positive thing to be a big strong man - the focus is on how much weight they can lift, who they can beat etc rather than looks.

A strong woman or girl is negative- they're "butch", "lesbian" or some equally derogatory term. Losing weight or being thin gets positive reinforcement from society.

However eating disorders are becoming increasingly common in boys, again as the focus on appearance is now starting to extend to males.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

I cringe every time I see "lollipop head" women idolised on the telly. Those actresses/singers/models are extremely underweight. I know in Milan fashion week they now refuse to use ultra skinny models.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323320404578216003751446488

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Do you have a source for the 1% statistic?

Posting female college age athlete's weight online doesn't seem likely to lead to clinical anorexia, either. Plus online profiles are often self reported questionnaires, it's not like the trainers are updating it to the pound weekly. I don't really see why weight is reported anyway as I've never really looked up any athlete's weight. I'm more curious about height, but not really weight, unless it's relevant to the sport like there's a weight class. Basketball, gymnastics, the weight is irrelevant. Even football. It's easy enough to guess. There are bigger guys and smaller guys. I don't need to know whether he's 255 or 268.

ANAD

 

[raenndrops]

At my daughter's 5 year check up, I was shocked to see that BMI was listed on her form. Really, this is already becoming a factor, at 5? What's more disheartening is how illogical it is anyhow. The sheet said she is borderline overweight. My tiny 5 year old who has been under the 10% mark her entire life is near overweight?! All because she's a gymnast, and has a LOT of muscle for an average 5 year old. It doesn't take that into account of course. BMI needs to be done away with entirely, and we should be given a clearer picture of overall health if they're going to pointing these things out.

On my kindergarten grade card (in 1978), my teacher made 3 comments not related to anything to do with what she was supposed to be evaluating. I still have the grade card. Her comments were:
1. Has breathy speech (It's called asthma... I was active and would run around until I couldn't really breathe and, without an inhaler, it would take a while to "catch my breath.")
2. Is a leader,, but tends to be a bit bossy. (Not my fault if the other kids looked up to me and would ask me what they should do.)
3. Needs to lose weight! (I had been in the hospital 2 years earlier so they could figure out why I was gaining weight so fast. I spent a week in the hospital having test after test done. They monitored everything that went into and out of my body. In 7 days, at the age of 3-1/2, with everything closely monitored, I gained weight. They were clueless as to HOW I did it. I was active and only ate and drank what they gave me - and I didn't even eat all of it.)

Now, when it comes to BMI, I just have to remind myself (and anyone who asks me about it) that pretty much MOST professional athletes are considered overweight / obese based on BMI. My favorite baseball player (Omar Vizquel) had a BMI of over 26 back in his playing days. He was not fat at all.

BMI needs to be abolished... or at least account for lean muscle mass separately.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

Ben Cohen - top rugby player (and currently appearing on strictly come dancing) - I have done the maths - does he look obese to anyone ?

 

[gymdog]

ANAD

Their statistic appears to be 10-15% and growing, especially in certain categories. Men are less likely to seek treatment.

 

[Flossyduck]

Hmmm. I'm not sure yet Margo. Maybe I need a closer look...

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Their statistic appears to be 10-15% and growing, especially in certain categories. Men are less likely to seek treatment.

i can tell you that those "certain categories" have nothing to do with body image like the females. PM if you would like. i don't want to post cause young eyes read here.

 

[MaryA]

Ben Cohen - top rugby player (and currently appearing on strictly come dancing) - I have done the maths - does he look obese to anyone ?

You were looking at him and doing MATH?

 

[Empowered]

Amen to that. I was thinking highly inappropriate thoughts.

 

[gymdog]

i can tell you that those "certain categories" have nothing to do with body image like the females. PM if you would like. i don't want to post cause young eyes read here.

I'm really not sure what you mean in terms of clinical anorexia. If we're talking about disordered eating that does not meet the DSM criteria, I'm sure that the % of affected males is higher than the 10-15%, and percentage of affected male ATHLETES is likely pretty high as well.