College cheerleaders are prone to eating disorders, and how severe their disordered eating becomes partly depends on how revealing their cheerleading costumes are, according to research from the University of South Carolina.

Prof. Toni Torres-McGehee and her colleagues found that 33% of the 136 college cheerleaders in their study had eating disorders, compared to less than 5% of all female college students. However, if their cheerleading team had a costume that reveals the midriff, they were most likely to have an eating disorder.

"Teams and coaches should consider the long-term effect of requiring cheerleaders to wear revealing uniforms simply for aesthetic reasons," Dr. Torres-McGehee said in a report presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine.
 

Labels: college_students, body image, influences

Posted By: Jane St. Clair