Female gymnasts stay as thin as possible for them to be healthy enough to compete so they can delay going through puberty. My granddaughter was tapped for training at an elite gym and my daughter and my son-in-law were considering it until they were told that she would need to lose at least 10 lbs. This would have put her weighing 85 lbs at 5’2”. At that point, they pulled her from competition level gymnastics.
My granddaughter was really upset for a while. It took several months for her to except the fact that what the coaches were asking was not healthy. Eating disorders have been a dirty little secret in the gymnastics world for a long time. I think the only activities worse for eating orders than gymnastics would be beauty pageants and modeling.
“The only activities worse for eating orders than gymnastics would be beauty pageants and modeling.”
I agree. Models in NYC eat cotton for lunch and then celery and a sleeping pill for dinner.
Bicycle professionals also diet and lose weight, since every pound slows them down.
Ethics teaches us to be balanced and becoming deficient or excessive is wrong and leads to unhappiness. Many pro cyclists are unhappy and get addicted to PED’s. Many NYC models live eimpty lives without husbands or kids.
I was prefer a balanced meal over a photo in a magazine or a trophy in a race.