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To divert attention from media-driven images of being super skinny, some parents engage their daughters in sports. But it doesn't always work.
"Some athletic pursuits, especially those like ice skating, which emphasize that what you look like is important, might put girls more at risk [for problems related to body image, like eating disorders]," says Sarah Murnen, PhD, a professor of psychology at Kenyon College.
But Murnen's research also has shown that girls who participate in sports that don't emphasis leanness are likely to feel better about themselves. "Perhaps sports give them a way of defining themselves that doesn't involve appearance," Murnen suggests.
Unfortunately, plenty of sports do emphasize lightness and leanness, and they link performance to appearance. Countless dancers, gymnasts, ice skaters and other athletes have succumbed to pressures—from coaches, peers or their own high expectations—and ended up feeling inadequate or, worse, with eating disorders that risk their health and make them too weak to compete.
Certain aspects of sports programs can offer parents clues about whether they are prone to boost or lower their daughters' self-esteem. Parents should observe the type of messages coaches send to their athletes about body image; the level of competition versus camaraderie found among teammates; and their own daughter's attitude toward the activity.
If parents suspect that their daughters' eating or exercising habits, albeit intended to drive peak performance, may in fact be jeopardizing it, they may want to tell them so in objective terms. "Explain that if you're running on empty and have depleted your fat stores, the next thing you're going to do is break down muscle mass," Gittes suggests. "Get them to understand the processes that are going on."
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SOURCES: Renee Hobbs, EdD, associate professor, communications, Temple University. Elissa Gittes, MD, pediatrician, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Sarah Murnen, professor of psychology, Kenyon College. Carleton Kendrick, EdM, LCSW, social worker; co-author, Take Out Your Nose Ring, Honey, We're Going to Grandma's. Adrienne Ressler, MA, LMSW, national training director, The Renfrew Center. Dohnt, H. Developmental Psychology, September 2006; vol 42: pp 929-936.
