Eating Disorders in Dancers

22-year-old Heidi Guenther from the Boston Ballet died from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in June of 1997. It was later revealed that an eating disorder contributed to her death. Guenther, a 5 '4 woman who was a part of the 25-member corp-de-ballet was forced into the ballet aesthetic of having a bone-thin body. The pressure from her teachers and dance itself led her to be anorexic and bulimic, causing a staggering drop from 115 pounds to 93 pounds in just 2 years. While her official cause of death was SCA, her eating disorder ultimately pushed her body over the edge.

The Ballet Body:

In ballet, there are very few acceptable ways for dancers to see themselves.

The ideal body includes but is not limited to:

• Legs - need to be long, slender, and flexible, the skinnier the better, they are one of the accent points of dance.

• Arms - small amounts of muscle, and no flab under the arms.

• Hips - no fat, as close to the bone as possible

Dancers are expected to be light and thin as a feather. Having a larger body is seen as being lazy and unwilling to work to become skinnier. As a result, dancers will restrict their diets to lose or maintain their weight. Over a long time, restrictive eating can develop into eating disorders.

What are Eating Disorders?

Eating disorders are serious and sometimes fatal illnesses involving food intake and disturbances in someone’s appetite, eating behaviors, and related emotions. It is usually associated with someone’s preoccupation with food, body weight, and shape.

Most dancers develop eating disorders because they are forced to choose between their career or their health. Several dancers have been fired because of their height and weight. Those who choose to shed pounds have to be more careful about their nutrition and diets.

Types of Disorders:

Some of the most common eating disorders include:

Anorexia Nervosa - A condition where people avoid or heavily restrict themselves from eating because even when underweight, they may still see themselves as being overweight. Restrictive anorexia is when people will heavily limit the quantities of food they consume. Binge anorexia is when a person binge eats and then gets rid of the food through vomiting or laxatives. Anorexia has an extremely high death rate compared to other mental disorders

Bulimia Nervosa - A condition where a person feels out of control and has recurrent episodes of large intakes of food. Usually, it follows with compensating for the food by vomiting, laxatives, or fasting. People with bulimia can range from being underweight to overweight.

Binge-eating disorder - A condition when someone has a large intake of food. It is similar to bulimia except there is no behavior for compensating through vomiting or laxatives. As a result, the person is usually overweight.

Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder - A condition where people limit the type of food eaten. It is similar to anorexia but the person does not have an extreme fear of gaining weight. It is typically found in children. While most picky eaters will overcome their pickiness, people with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder do not eat enough to sustain their bodily functions.

EDNOS - What a person is diagnosed with when they meet many but not all of the conditions for anorexia or bulimia.

Eating Disorders in Dancers:

The overall prevalence of eating disorders was 12.0% (16.4% for ballet dancers): 2.0% (4% for ballet dancers) for anorexia, 4.4% (2% for ballet dancers) for bulimia, and 9.5% (14.9% for ballet dancers) for EDNOS.

As a whole, dancers have a higher risk of developing an eating disorder compared to the rest of the population. They are three times more likely to be put at risk of developing an eating disorder, specifically anorexia or EDNOS.

A study of 14 dancers was conducted and at initial testing, 7 of 14 students admitted to self-vomiting, and at a later check-up, 4 of the 7 dancers had eating disorders and the other 3 had quit dance.

The reason why so many dancers have eating disorders is because of the constant pressure to maintain a certain body structure. This is perpetuated by the fact that the skinnier and lighter they are, the more roles and performances they will be put in, while the bigger they are, the more likely they are to lose their job.

Risks of Eating Disorders:

Eating disorders are caused by many factors such as background, environmental, biological, psychological, and social factors.

Symptoms/risks of Eating Disorders include:

• Extreme thinness

• Intense fear of gaining weight

• Distorted body image and low self-esteem

• Organ failure and damage to the heart

• Low blood pressure

• Slowed breathing and pulse

• Feeling passive, weak, and tired

• Sore or inflamed throat

• Acid reflux disorder

• Dehydration from the purging of fluids

• Intestinal distress from the usage of laxatives

• Dramatic weight loss

In dancers, eating disorders can lead to weaker performance and over-exhaustion from lack of sustenance and nutrition. More than 1 in 2 female and 1 in 3 male dancers do not meet their energy needs. This can lead to an increased risk of injury, mental burnout, social isolation, emotional distress, slowed metabolism, and loss of muscle and endurance capacity.

Treatment of Eating Disorders:

People with eating disorders are at higher risk for suicide and other medical complications. They are also most likely dealing with other mental issues along with eating disorders.

Treatment includes:

• Psychotherapy

• Medical care and monitoring

• Nutritional counseling

• Medications

• Setting goals to build a healthy relationship with food

Conclusion:

Dancers are expected to fit a certain look. While this can increase attention and grow their platform, it can also lead to eating disorders. They may see themselves as constantly overweight or too bulky for dance. Anorexia and bulimia are two of the most common types of eating disorders; both can be fatal. Eating disorders can lead to an increased risk of injury and a lack of nutrition for the dancer, causing mental burnout and emotional distress. Such a large percentage of dancers have eating disorders due to the constant pressure of companies as well as the studios themselves. Comparing themselves to other dancers can cause mental distress, which can result in eating disorders. To remedy this, dancers can learn to build a more positive relationship with food through therapy or nutritional counseling.

Sources:

Arcelus, Jon, et al. “Prevalence of Eating Disorders amongst Dancers: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis.” ResearchGate, Mar. 2014, www.researchgate.net/publication/258923910_Prevalence_of_Eating_Disorders_amongst_Dancers_A_Systemic_Review_and_Meta-Analysis.

Baker, Ken. “Heidi Guenther’s Short, Tragic Life - and Death.” SFGATE, 4 Apr. 1999, www.sfgate.com/magazine/article/Heidi-Guenther-s-short-tragic-life-and-death-3490764.php.

“Eating Disorders.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders#:~:text=Eating%20disorders%20are%20actually%20serious,also%20signal%20an%20eating%20disorder.

Fine, Rachel. “Dancers & Disordered Eating.” Dance Nutrition, 4 June 2023, https://dancenutrition.com/dancers-disordered-eating/.

Garner, David  M., et al. “A Prospective Study of Eating Disturbances in the Ballet.” JSTOR, S. Karger AG, 1987, www.jstor.org/stable/45115732.

Green, Jill. “Somatic Authority and the Myth of the Ideal Body in Dance Education .” JSTOR, Dance Studies Association, 1999, www.jstor.org/stable/1478333?ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&searchKey=.

Oliver, Wendy. “Reading the Ballerina’s Body: Susan Bordo Sheds Light on Anastasia Volochkova and Heidi Guenther.” JSTOR, Dance Studies Association, 2005, www.jstor.org/stable/20444640.