Adding Two Cents to Wikipedia

Today I was searching for some background information to use as a part of a future post about body image and I came across a post on Wikipedia called Health Risks of Professional Dance. The article touched on some basic side effects of poor nutrition and disordered eating, but, in my opinion, it didn't say enough. Here is the section I'm referring too:

As with other activities (such as horse jockeying) where weight is a factor, dancers are at a higher risk for developing eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.[4] Many young dancers, believing that the ideal dancer must be thin, may begin controlling their diets, sometimes obsessively.[5] Such dancers may be unaware of or may choose to ignore the fact that an emaciated dancer will not have the strength required for ballet and is at a higher risk for injuries and long-term health problems. It is also highly relevant that inadequate nutrition in adolescent females has been linked to development of scoliosis, due to decreased estrogen production and subsequent reduced bone density.

This post included some important side effects of poor nutrition but only in a vague and general way. If someone with an eating disorder read that they might be at risk of scoliosis they won’t really get the full seriousness of their problem. Yes, that is serious, but nothing sounds dire about the wording of it. “Linked to development of scoliosis” seems to say you might develop it because poor nutrition will potentially make your oestrogen production lower, but you might also be okay. The post was an extremely concise list of side effects that needed to be more complete. So I took action into my own hands with the help of the Children's Hospital of Colorado to back me up:

As with other activities (such as horse jockeying) where weight is a factor, dancers are at a higher risk for developing eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.[4] Many young dancers, believing that the ideal dancer must be thin, may begin controlling their diets, sometimes obsessively.[5] Such dancers may be unaware of or may choose to ignore the fact that an emaciated dancer will not have the strength required for ballet. It is also highly relevant that inadequate nutrition in adolescent females has been linked to development of scoliosis, due to decreased estrogen production and subsequent reduced bone density. A dancer with poor nutrition is at a higher risk for injuries and long-term health problems. A malnourished dancer’s performance will be altered and weaken as his or her body starts to break down muscle and bone in order to fuel itself. This puts the dancer at risk for injury and slows the healing of chronic injuries.[6]

I felt it was important to include more risks of poor nutrition as a way to sort of scare people into realizing that they need to get healthy. Want to know the easiest way to scare a dancer? Tell them they won’t be able to dance anymore. I wanted to drive home the scary reality that a malnourished body will actually start to eat itself, actually its own muscles, in order to survive. This will weaken your body and you will get injured. Then, your injuries will not be able to heal quickly because they have no nutrients or energy to mend them. Without proper, healthy, and regulated nutrition, you will be sidelined with injury and most likely stay sidelined until your habits change.

I found it important to update this entry on Wikipedia because it’s necessary for people to know the effects and harms of disordered eating and poor nutrition. While full-blown anorexia nervosa and bulimia have received more attention and have somewhat been dealt with within the dance community, disordered eating, as in not eating enough, making poor choices, or starving and then binging, is still wildly prevalent and ignored. If you or anyone you know is or could be struggling with disordered eating, try to get help right away. 

The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders is a great resource for information and treatment options. 

Editing this post is just a small step toward my goal to inform and raise awareness about disordered eating. It is just the start of an ongoing dialogue I hope to have about body image and the dangers of extreme dieting, so check back for more information, nutrition tips, and resources!