Body shaming: unfortunately, it's something we've probably all experienced. Whether from the criticisms of our peers or ourselves, the effects of body shaming are detrimental to the young mind. 

Related: Fueling Your Body for Performance

To succeed in any sport an athlete must be fit and prepared to compete, and a fit body looks different in every person. Still, the image of a fit body, which is socially constructed and almost always impossible to achieve, haunts growing athletes. Self-criticism of oneself causes long-term insecurity, unhappiness, and unhealthy dietary and fitness habits in athletes, and body shaming can contribute to all of these things. Here's how to spot body shaming in sports and what to do about it.

Body shaming does not always have to be direct comments. Teammates discussing their own eating habits and fitness schedules to “lose weight” can be damaging to an athlete's confidence in themselves and they can develop the mentality of always trying to lose weight to be better. Coaches believe that their athletes should always be training and eating healthy, but tend to forget that their players are human and cannot sustain such training and dietary restriction. Coaches that deny their players specific foods and fail to educate their team about proper nutrition contribute to body shaming and continue to spread the false image of the “fit body”. 

Related: The Effects of Muscle Gain on Female Athlete Body Image

How to stop body shaming and the unrealistic standard of fitness:

• Prioritize your health: Instead of eating what is supposed to be “healthy,” eat what your body needs. Eat what makes you feel good and fueled for practice and games.
• Ditch the scale: Muscle weighs more than fat and the number on the scale is just that: a number.
• Recognize everybody is a different body and that no one has the same genes or body composition. One fit athlete may look completely different than the other, but they still are AMAZING athletes.

Body shaming can be tough to deal with, but athletes must remember that they are so much more than just a body or a number on a scale. Our bodies allow us to play the sports we love and at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

Have an idea for a story or a question you need answered? Want to set up an interview with us? Email us at [email protected]

* Originally published on September 5, 2022, by Claire Borman