Sport can cause EDs but also help people who suffer from this type of pathologies.
- This week there is an awareness campaign about eating disorders (TCA).
- On this occasion, the French Anorexia Bulimia Federation (FFAB) highlights the associations that exist between physical activity and anorexia, bulimia or even hyperphagia.
- The most severe eating disorders (TCA), namely anorexia nervosa, bulimia and hyperphagia, affect 900,000 people in France.
On the occasion of this global week of awareness of eating disorders (TCA), the French anorexia bulimia federation (FFAB) wishes to focus in this Olympic year on the associations that exist between physical activity and anorexia, bulimia and even overeating.
Too intensive or inappropriate sports practice: a trigger for TCA
“Did you know that the practice of regular physical activity, if it is recommended by all health stakeholders, could also prove to be a practice at risk of triggering eating disorders, or even EDs, when it is too much? intensive or unsuitable? first challenged the activists in a press release.
A link confirmed by the physiotherapist known on social networks as Major movement. “Since confinement, I have had a new profile of patients in consultation: these are young people with tendinopathies caused by sports practices that they are unable to moderate”, says the healthcare professional. “Often, they have a goal in mind that they have not told anyone and that they cannot achieve under these conditions. During my consultations, many burst into tears and confide to me that they make themselves vomit after each meals, sometimes for years”, he reports.
Emma Oudiou, who is one of the first athletes to warn of the links between TCA and sporting performance, describes this toxic association well.
Victim of anorexia nervosa and hyperphagia attacks during her career, the 3,000 meter steeplechase champion says that “food had become a performance issue in its own right (…). I fell into this logic which, I think, is extremely unhealthy”. She continues: “I decided to talk about it because too few people do it, whereas in the moments when it was most difficult for me, I would have liked to be able to get closer to other athletes who had experienced my situation.”
TCA: adapted physical activity (APA) programs can help
If sport can cause EDs, physical activity can also help people who suffer from this type of pathology.
“For several years, several adapted physical activity (APA) programs have existed, allowing patients with eating disorders to express themselves and externalize their emotions in a new way,” explain Anestaps (national association of students in science and technology of physical and sporting activities). “It is rather gentle practices that are favored, such as yoga, Tai-chi and dance. However, it is essential to do so on a case-by-case basis, depending on the experience of each patient. The same program “APA does not have the same effects and is not experienced in the same way depending on the person”, add the members of the non-profit organization.
The most severe eating disorders (TCA), namely anorexia nervosa, bulimia and hyperphagia, affect 900,000 people in France. “Children, adolescents, adults… Today, around half of these patients do not have access to specialized treatments due to lack of effective identification and sufficient care provision”, in conclusion deplores the French federation anorexia bulimia.
