Liz Applegate

About the author: Liz Applegate is a contributor to Runner's World magazine.

Athletes are believed to be more vulnerable to anorexia and other eating disorders than nonathletes. In particular, anorexia tends to strike most often among athletes competing in sports, such as gymnastics, running, and wrestling, that require lean body types. Researchers believe that because of the highly competitive nature of sports, equally competitive participants become obsessed with maximizing their performance. The character traits found in many anorexics, such as perfectionism and obsessive behavior, are usually traits that can be observed in highly competitive athletes. Experts think that competitive sports can trigger an eating disorder in an athlete with an obsessive and competitive personality.

Three female college students entered my office one afternoon desperate for advice that might help their...