The media gets most of the blame for triggering eating disorders in young people. But a recent study at the University of Minnesota has found that teens who participate in weight-based sports are more likely to use unhealthy means of weight management/control than teens who aren't involved in weight-based sports.

"After analyzing the data, researchers found males are more likely to participate in weight-based sports than females. They also found males in weight-based sports are 5.7-times more likely to vomit in a given week than males not involved in weight-based sports, and these young men are six-times more likely to use diuretics to control their weight."

Weight-based sports include activities like ballet, wrestling, and gymnastics. The study was conducted using a survey which was administered to 4,746 students at 31 public high schools in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. 

Labels: wrestling, gymnastics, ballet

Posted By: Aspen Education Group