RJA #5c

Reference Articles

• Author: The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia
• Title: Eating Disorders
• Title of Reference work: Infoplease
• Name of Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Copyright 2007

Resource searched: Infoplease.com
Keywords: eating disorders and sports
Search strategies: keywords
Date: 2/22/10
Number of hits: 120+
Relevance: 1/5

*I am having a hard time finding relevant reference articles. So far this is the only one I've found worth citing. Many are very broad or basic and do not tie into my topic too directly. If anyone has suggestions please help! Thank you.

RJA #5b

Periodical Articles

• Author: American Academy of Family Physicians
• Title: Sports and Women Athletes: The Female Athlete Triad
• Title of Periodical: American Family Physician
• Volume and Issue: V. 69 Issue 7
• Date: April 1, 2004
• pg. 1729

• Author: Erin Strout
• Title: What the Stopwatch Doesn't Tell
  
• Title of Periodical: The Chronicle of Higher Education
• Volume and Issue: V. 53 Issue 24
• Date: February 16, 2007
• pg. A44-6

• Author: Ronald S. Manley & Karina M. O'Brien & Sumerlee Samuals
• Title: Fitness Instructors Recognition of Eating Disorders and Attendant ethical/liability Issues
• Title of Periodical: Eating Disorders
• Volume and Issue: V. 16 Issue 2
• Date: March 2008
• pg. 103-116

Resource searched: Auraria Library
Keywords: eating disorders and sports
Search strategy: Worldcat operator
Date: 2/22/10
Number of Hits: 1,1016
Relevance: 3-4/5

*I am wanting to find more articles, but this is my starting off point! Hopefully I'll be adding more soon.

RJA #5a

Books

Books Found:

• Editor: Shane Murphy
• Title: The Sport Psych Handbook
• Place of Publication: Champaign, IL
• Name of Publisher: Human Kinetics Publisher, Inc.
• Copyright: 2005

Resource searched: Auraria Library
Keywords: eating disorders and competitive sports
Search strategy: used internet database/Skyline operator
Date: 2/22/10
Number of hits: 1
Relevance: 2/5

• Author: Carolyn Costin
• Title: 100 Questions and Answers about Eating Disorders
• Place of Publication: Sudbury, MA
• Publisher: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc.
• Copyright 2007

• Editor: Viqi Wagner
• Title: Eating Disorders
• Series: Opposing Viewpoints Series
• Place of Publication: Farmington Hills, MI
• Publisher: Greenhaven Press
• Copyright: 2007

• Authors: Deborah Michel & Susan Willard
• Title: When Dieting Becomes Dangerous
• Place of Publication: New Haven
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Copyright: 2003

Resource Searched: Auraria Library
Keywords: causes of eating disorders
Search strategies: online/Skyline operator
Date: 2/22/10
Number of Hits: 11
Relevance: 2-3/5

• Editors: Eugene Brown & Crystal Branta
  
• Title: Competitive Sports for Children and Youth: An Overview of Research and Issues
• Place of Publication: Champaign, IL
• Publisher: Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
  
• Copyright: 1988

• Author: Don Davies with Malcolm Armstrong
• Title: Psychological Factors in Competitive Sports
• Place of Publication: Philadelphia, PA
• Publisher: The Falmer Press
• Copyright: 1989

• Author: Jaime S. Ruud
• Title: Nutrition and the Female Athlete
• Name of Series: CRC Series
• Place of Publication: Boca Raton, FL
• Publisher: CRC Press, Inc.
• Copyright: 1996

Resource Searched: Auraria Library
Keywords: dangers of competitive sports
Search strategy: online/Skyline operator
Date: 2/22/10
Number of Hits: 12
Relevance: 2-4/5

• Editor: Louis Diamant
• Title: Psychology of Sports, Exercise, and Fitness: Social and Personal Issues
• Place of Publication: New York
• Publisher: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation
  
• Copyright: 1991

• Editor: Susan Holliman
• Title: Eating Disorders and Athletes: A Handbook for Coaches
• Place of Publication: Iowa
• Publisher: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
• Copyright: 1991

Resource: Auraria Library
Keywords: eating disorders and sports
Search Strategies: Worldcat operator
Date: 2/22/10
Number of Hits: 1,1016
Relevance: 4/5

RJA #4c

Research Question Comments:

J. Madison:

http://jmadison411.blogspot.com/2010/02/rja-3c-research-question.html

Aaron Repp:
http://aaronrepp.blogspot.com/2010/02/rja-3c-research-question.html

RJA #4b

Search Strings

Search Engine Math:

• athletes+eating disorders+sports
• athletes+current+statistics+eating disorders
• athletes+eating+competitive sports

Boolean Search:

• athletes AND eating disorders AND competitive sports
• athletes AND eating disorders AND today
• athletes AND anorexia OR bulimia
  

RJA #4a

Keywords

• Eating, consumption, intake, ingestion

• Disorder, chaos, disarray, confusion, unrest

• Eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, binging, bulimia, compulsive eating, purging

• Athlete, contestant, participant, competitor, player, team member

• Prominent, obvious, marked, noticeable, unmistakable, easily seen, outstanding, pronounced

• Today, now, nowadays, current, presently

• Competitive, aggressive, ambitious, competing, opposing, contesting

• Sports, action, athletics, exercise, games, recreation

Ladder of Generalization:
Eating--Eating disorder--Eating disorder among athletes--Eating disorder among competitive athletes

RJA #3c

Research Question

-Who is most affected: which sports have the highest number of athletes with disordered eating?

-What is to blame?-weight restrictions, society pressures, coaches?

-When did this truly become a growing concern?

-Where can athletes get help?

-How can this problem be stopped?

-Why is it becoming more of a concern?

-Should athletes be more closely monitored on how they are eating and how much they are exercising?

-Would these athletes have eating disorders even if they were not athletes?

After further thought my research question is:

Are eating disorders among athletes more prominent today due to competitive sports?

RJA #3b

Research Topic Focus

There are many different sides to the correlation between athletes and their eating disorders. Some possible points of disagreement may include:

-How many calories are considered appropriate for athletes both male and female, based on their sport? Here people may argue as to what is considered good or bad for an athlete of that stamina. It could be personal opinion whether the athlete should be eating 3,000 calories, or only 1,200 a day. I think it is important to get the medical opinion to know an accurate way to answer this debate.
-When does their eating become a true eating disorder?
-Are constant athlete dieters or highly restrictive eaters considered disordered?
-Would the athlete affected have the eating disorder regardless of their competitive sport? This may cause debate between many. Some may argue that the eating disorder has nothing to do with them being an athlete, but rather it is a psychological issue they would have regardless.
-Are athletic trainers and coaches to blame? Or even the parents?
-Are competitive level sports good or bad for young adults given the rise in those with disorders?

RJA #3a

Research Topic Exploration

I have begun a pretty general search regarding my topic. Currently I have been searching through Google and found some interesting websites. I am mainly trying to get a broad overview into the issue of competitive sports and eating disorders before narrowing down the search. I think by having an overall idea of the opinions, concerns, etc. regarding my topic it will be easier to begin refining my search. Varying in content, I have bookmarked a few of the better sites I found on my delicious account. One site, I was startled to find that, "according to a 1992 American College of Sports Medicine study, eating disorders affected 62 percent of females in sports like figure skating and gymnastics." (mirror-mirror.org). Not only is this percent high, but a relatively older statistic. I will be very curious to find more current statistics as I believe the numbers may have grown. On almost every site there seems to be a consensus that athletes are easier targets for eating disorders due to the extreme discipline and pressures that often come with the sport. I also found many times a concern over the pressures placed on the athlete by their very coaches. This was a startling idea. To explain, athletes often trust and depend heavily upon their trainers, and it is unsettling to think that often it is the weight standards these trainers have that leave the athlete struggling. Based on the research I have done thus far, I am thinking there is a definite argument as to the correlation between competitive sports and disordered eating.

RJA #2b

For our argumentative paper, I chose the topic of whether competitive sports do or do not cause eating disorders. I am most drawn to this subject because as a Nutrition major I am currently interested in sports dietetics. Hopefully this will be my narrowed field of expertise as I settle into my career as a dietitian in the future. Given my professional goals, the subject of sports related to eating and, more specifically, disordered eating will be an important topic of issue for both me and my patients. Through researching this topic now, I will be able to expand my knowledge on an issue that I will most likely deal with later.

I have plenty to learn regarding my topic of research. However, as of now, I know there are a few specific sports with a direct concern for the rise in athletes with eating disorders. Some of the concerns I have read about are in connection to gymnastics, dancing, figure skating, and wrestling. All of these sports in some sense require weight standards. Just last semester I learned some information regarding eating disorders in my Introduction to Nutrition course. Here we addressed what is called the female athlete triad. One point of this triangle is disordered eating, showing the prevalence of this concern. A related concern can be sports like wrestling where there are weight classes that must be met. The issue could be whether this is safe to be doing. I will look at the opinions of varying athletes, trainers, family, and medical professionals. I think these opinions will all be substantial to address in my understanding of the topic.

There are quite a few things I do not know. One thing I have no idea about is the actual numbers regarding how many athletes do have an eating disorder and what have the rates been over past years to our present. I think finding statistical information will help provide a picture regarding athletes and their eating. I would also like to learn if there is anything being done in attempts to decrease this supposed growing concern. Last, I want to learn if athletes are able to achieve their weight standards in a healthy way, or if it is the weight standards that must change.

RJA #2a

Possible Topics

• Why is diabetes type II on the rise in children?

• Cloned beef-they have the technology, but should we use it?

• Are vegetarian diets good or bad?

• Is today's media making us fatter?

• Do competitive sports cause eating disorders?

The topic I chose was whether competitive sports cause eating disorders.