The Intertwining of Ballet with Anorexia

The Intertwining of Ballet with Anorexia

In the 1870s, the first diagnosis ever of anorexia nervosa was made by British doctors. Catherine of Siena was reported to eat only herbs, and sometimes she would “take a twig and stick it down her throat so that she could vomit” (“A Brief History of Eating Disorders”). In the modern world, every magazine, every television show, and even in school, there are beautiful slim girls that seem to just have it all. They appear to be popular, are always happy, and have perfect bodies. Therefore, it is not uncommon nowadays that thousands of girls that are just beginning to go through adolescence feel that to be these perfect girls, they also have to be thin. Consequently, they turn to anorexia. For these modern Catherines, salads become their “herbs” and their fingers become their “twigs.” Although, anorexia affects many people throughout the world, a select group, young female ballet dancers who are molded into thinking that the only way to achieve their dreams is to be thin, is especially prevalent but greatly ignored. People tend to think of anorexia as a disease for college women. However, researchers David Garner and Paul Garfunkle discovered that “of 131 ballet students, over 30% obtained scores on the Eating Attitudes test comparable to those achieved by anorexic patients whereas only 12% of college students scored in this range. (Garner)” Why does anorexia nervosa so commonly afflict ballet dancers? Exploring the causes of anorexia leads to why so many ballet dancers are so obsessed with their weights, why these young girls are at high risk of getting this disease, and why no simple means will end their obsession.

What is Anorexia?

Anorexia is a serious psychological and physiological disorder characterized by an irrational fear of gaining weight, as well as a distorted self-image. In other words, anorexics think that they are obese when they are actually too thin. Although there are male anorexics, “more than ninety percent of cases are diagnosed in females” (Encarta Encyclopedia). Women with distorted self-images can begin to lose ridiculous amounts of weight through a stoppage of food intake. Some anorexics are also compulsive exercisers. This a common trait in ballerinas because of their busy schedule of dance classes.

Anorexia occurs especially amongst younger women. Research suggests that “one out of every one hundred young women ages ten through twenty have anorexia, and up to ten percent of those may literally starve themselves to death” (Mongeau). They fear gaining weight so much that they avoid eating to the point of emaciation, where the damage done to their bodies is irreversible. To protect itself, the body shifts into “slow gear.” They become lethargic because their starved bodies begin to conserve as much energy as possible. However, this also results in a stabilization of their weight. When met with this stoppage of weight loss, sufferers will often eat even less hoping that their weight will begin to drop once more. Anorexics are diagnosed by having a body weight that is 15 percent below the expected body weight of a healthy person of equivalent age and height (American Psychiatric Association). Even when confronted with evidence, sufferers deny being underweight and malnourished.

Causes

Anorexics honestly believe that the quickest way to lose weight is to simply stop eating. “I became obsessed with body image. I kept journals and in one pathetic passage I described how I went for sixteen days on water, and only about two glasses a day,” says former anorexic Nanett Pearson, Miss Utah 1996 (Pearson). Ironically, when the more a person stops eating, the less weight they lose. While it is true that starvation is very effective at first, the body eventually adapts by slowing itself down as much as possible. Since this stingy use of energy consequently diminishes the loss of weight, a vicious cycle of more and more dieting is created. This downward spiral heralds the onset of anorexia.

Low self-esteem can also contribute to the disease. When a young girl is told that she is fat over and over, chances are that she would begin to believe it to be true. As a part of nature, growing into adolescence means that fat deposits in places where it had never done so before. Breasts bud and her hips begin to widen. The names she was called as a child would therefore, in her eyes, begin to seem true. She looks in the mirror and sees a fat girl. She then begins to diet in the futile hope to acquire desirable and accepted features. The National Eating Disorder Referral Organization agrees that “Low self-esteem and the constant need for acceptance leads to obsessive dieting and starvation as a way to control not only weight, but also feelings and actions regarding their emotions” (N.E.D.R.O.).

Effects

A combination of physiological and psychological effects is associated with the development of anorexia. Monthly periods stop (amenorrhea) in women who should be menstruating. Breathing, pulse and blood pressure rates drop. Thyroid function slows. Nails and hair become brittle. The skin dries, yellows, and becomes covered with soft hair called “lanugo” (Women’s Health Channel). Dehydration creates constipation. The absence of body fat lowers the body’s temperature and ability to withstand cold. Mild anemia, swollen joints, reduced muscles mass, and lightheadedness also commonly occur in anorexia. Patients may lose calcium from their bones, making them weak, brittle and easily broken. Psychologically, anorexics suffer isolation from others because of how they look. Mood swings, fainting spells, insomnia, weakness, hyperactivity, low self esteem, fatigue, depression, self hatred, loss of sexual desire and eventually death can all occur (Women’s Health Channel). The effects of anorexia nervosa are sometimes irreversible and indeed severe.

Ballet’s Contribution

There are many pressures on a ballet dancer, the greatest being maintaining a lean and small body. This is what contributes to the creation of an anorexic dancer. Ballet and the media go hand in hand. All too often, the media determines the socially acceptable standards of beauty, no matter how ridiculous

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