Male Collegiate Athlete-Body Image Issues
To begin I would just like to apologize for my lack of knowledge on this subject, it was difficult finding information on this topic. However, through writing this blog post, my goal is to bring more awareness to this matter, and hope that it is sparks more discussions and research related to male body image issues amongst collegiate athletes.
Body image issues among collegiate athletes are common. Females aren’t the only ones who experience body image issues. Male collegiate athletes do as well.
It’s not easy being told to change your body. For males the use of performance-enhancing drugs is common. Society has constructed the ideal male as one being lean and muscular. Why can’t men have body image issues but women can?
Well, according to Jennifer Carter a psychologist at the Ohio State University Sports medicine Center, after conducting a study of 882 athletes at the university, 57% being men, out of the men:
· 9% [of male collegiate athletes] reported using performance-enhancing drugs or substances, such as creatine
· 5% said they avoided situations where they had to expose their bodies, such as wearing a swimsuit
· 4% reported they are preoccupied about the inadequacy of their body size and have significant distress or impairment as a result
· 4% said they frequently give up important activities because their workout or diet schedule (Ohio State Research News, Male Athletes Also Suffer From Body Image Problems, Study Shows).
Male collegiate athletes typically want to gain weight rather than lose weight. In fact on average male athletes want to gain about 3.2 pounds (Ohio State Research News, Male Athletes Also Suffer From Body Image Problems, Study Shows). However, male athletes can also have eating disorders. It all depends on the sport.
Carter had administered another study where she found that 17.5% of athletes in lean sports showed symptoms of eating disorders, compared to the 9.2% in non-lean sports like basketball, football and hockey (Ohio State Research News, Male Athletes Also Suffer From Body Image Problems, Study Shows).
Athletes in general sometimes resort to unhealthy behaviors and measures to achieve the bodies they desire. However, I am writing this blog to show that female athletes aren’t the only ones that have body image issues.
Having to live up to the ideal body standards that are set in place for male athletes is not easy.
Body image disorders are common amongst collegiate athletes, but females are at the forefront of discussions on this issue. Men are being ignored if at all brought up in these discussions. For example, when doing research on this subject, I found more articles, journals, etc. on female collegiate athlete body image issues vs. male. It is not fair, and male athletes need to be given the same attention as female athletes when it comes to this issue. Moving forward larger discussions on male collegiate athlete body image issues need to be brought to the forefront. As a result we may possibly begin to move towards a place where male collegiate athletes won’t have to feel the need resort to unhealthy behaviors/drugs, to change their bodies.
Collegiate student-athletes go through a lot, thus in my next blog post I will discuss the differences between male and female collegiate athletes, the sports they play, and if these differences make it any easier or harder being a student-athlete.
