Sports are often valued as a way to stay fit and healthy, and many people around the world see athletes as having the ideal body. However, many athletes experience body image issues, partly due to the high expectations of the general public of what an athlete should look like.
American psychologist William Sheldon defined three main body types based on body composition and skeletal structure: ectomorphs, endomorphs and mesomorphs. Ectomorphs are tall and skinny and have little muscle or fat. Endomorphs are the opposite: they have more muscle but also more body fat and a slower metabolism. Mesomorphs are what most people think of as the ideal athlete. They are lean and gain muscle easily, contributing to a more defined structure. People are usually a combination of these body types, but body types don’t reveal everything about an athlete.
“When we look at one another, we see muscle or we see fat,” said wrestling Coach Sean Schochet. “We don’t see agility, quickness, flexibility, balance. Those are all equally important to muscular strength. … Some body types show muscle, and some body types have internal muscle. They’re as strong [as they] can be, but [because of] whatever genetics are in that individual, they don’t show it externally.”
Even though elite athletes have the essential skills to excel at their sport, 49.2% of female NCAA Division 1 athletes deal with body image issues. Many of these issues stem from stereotypes within sports and pressures from daily life.
“The most common questions that I get are either how do I get more muscular or look bigger,” said strength and conditioning Coach Michael Wu. “On the opposite end of the spectrum, I’ll notice some athletes in certain sports won’t want to lift because they’re afraid of how it might make them look physically. Some students might not push themselves as hard, because [they] don’t want to get [their] arms too big or [their] legs too big. [Otherwise] it’s like how do I get my pecs popping and all that nonsense.”
On top of that, there are differing societal expectations for how women and men should look. The National Institute on Media and the Family reported that roughly 78% of females in America are unhappy with their bodies by 17 years old. Men aren’t immune to this pressure either. According to the Body Image Therapy Center, 43% of men are displeased with their body. Muscle dysmorphia, a form of body dysmorphic disorder, is common among male athletes and is characterized by a preoccupation with one’s body image, excessive exercise to bulk up and fear of losing weight and getting weaker.
“Very few male athletes whom I work with will ever say ‘I don’t want to do this lift, because I don’t want my legs getting bigger,’” Wu said. “When I’m coaching, especially football, I always have to tell them ‘don’t try to lift [anything] too heavy’ or ‘make sure you’re resting enough,’ whereas when I’m working with female athletes, the times that I have to push them to lift more weight occur at a much higher frequency.”
Playing a sport can also inspire body confidence. At its core, sports are performance-driven activities. How an athlete looks doesn’t matter if they can excel at their role.
“Before I thought that I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of sports, because I had a bigger body, … but I know that I can get my job done,” said sophomore cheer backspot Gabriel Nersessian. “I can do what I need to do, and even though I am bigger I can still backspot girls. … I know I can get that job done very well because I have a lot of force to hold them up.”
Sometimes, being in athletics and staying healthy can be enough to keep a positive body image.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had body image issues,” said junior Mary Torres, a cross country and track and field runner. “I’ve always been an athletic person and just accepted that. [Running has] always kept me relatively in shape, and I never really thought about having to keep my body a certain way, just because sports always did that for me.”
To combat body image problems, Schochet recommends staying in sports. Working hard and achieving goals can increase self-esteem. He also recommends talking to a trusted adult and finding help when needed.
“When we find success, not just winning or losing, by putting in our full effort and getting something out of it, it might mean losing but losing with dignity,” Schochet said. “Our self-esteem goes up, and all body image issues are all related to self-esteem. First admit it to yourself, and then admit it to someone else. Maybe it’s a parent, maybe it’s a best friend. Maybe it’s a school counselor, a teacher, an uncle or cousin. Someone you trust. Tell someone. Don’t keep it to yourself because problems we keep ourselves can only get worse.”
As well as finding help from others, Nersessian believes that one also has to cast out the negative comments from society.
“Don’t listen to people who say that your body’s not right for a certain type of sport and that you should look a certain way,” Nersessian said. “As long as you’re having fun, and you’re enjoying what you do, you shouldn’t let anyone get in your way.”
In most cases, the way someone looks doesn’t matter for performance. As long as athletes keep training hard and doing their best to succeed, the way one’s body looks should not be a priority.
“[Don’t] make [your body] your main focus,” Torres said. “Focus on your sport and train the right way for what you’re doing and then you can’t be mad at your body for helping you compete.”
Body image issues are prevalent and affect many athletes. However, with early intervention, body image can be addressed in a healthy way.
