Slim enough to swim? Weight pressures for competitive swimmers and coaching implications.

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Diane L. Gill, Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Swimmers found themselves in the spotlight at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and in the scrutiny of spectators and sport researchers alike. An attempt is often made to determine what the athlete is feeling behind the scenes and this article will focus on body weight concerns among swimmers. While sports such as gymnastics (Conviser, Fitzgibbon, & Kahn, 2000) and figure skating (Smith, 1997; Ryan, 1995) have been consistently labeled "leanness-demand" sports, the weight-related pressures for swimmers have been less clear. Benson and Taub (1993) reported that swimmers feel pressure to drop weight, "Swimmers may be especially vulnerable to disordered eating due to the display of their bodies in a tight and revealing team uniform" (p. 360).

Additional Information

Publication
The Sport Journal , Vol. 4, No. 2, Spring 2001.
Language: English
Date: 2001
Keywords
Body weight concerns, Swimmers, Weight Pressures

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