Latest news with #PaigeVanZant
Indian Express
12-05-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
‘I don't even recognise myself anymore': reality of eating disorders in sport
The UK is facing what charities are calling an eating disorder epidemic, with an estimated 1.25 million people affected. These conditions have the highest mortality rate of any mental health illness, making early intervention and education urgent. Yet, within the world of sport, eating disorders often go undetected and unchallenged. Disordered behaviour, such as restricting food intake, purging, binge eating, or abusing laxatives, are sometimes normalised in competitive environments, embedded into routines and disguised as dedication. Eating disorders thrive in silence. They're secretive, isolating and can affect athletes of all genders, ages and backgrounds, whether at grassroots or elite levels. In sport, several factors can trigger or worsen disordered behaviour: pressure to perform, body dissatisfaction, weight-category requirements and cultural ideals of what an 'athletic' body should look like. In this context, harmful practices like dehydration, extreme weight-cutting and overtraining often become accepted – and are sometimes even encouraged. In some sports, the risks are tragically clear. Take bodybuilding. One heartbreaking example is 20-year-old Jodi Vance, who died from heart failure caused by dehydration during preparations for a competition. In combat sports and martial arts, eating disorders are frequently acknowledged, yet meaningful solutions are rarely discussed. Fighters like Paige VanZant and Kay Hansen have openly shared their struggles with disordered eating, which in many sports, is still dismissed as just 'part of the process'. Even worse, some coaches perpetuate a toxic culture by fat-shaming athletes or joking about serious conditions like bulimia. In such environments, young athletes can become trapped in cycles of physical and emotional harm. A post shared by West Ham United Women (@westhamwomen) In my own research with UK-based mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, I spent months observing and interviewing athletes across various gyms. Many described extreme weight-loss tactics before fights – dropping both fat and water weight in dangerously short time frames. These methods took a toll on both their bodies and mental health. I witnessed fighters collapse from exhaustion and dehydration. I heard coaches make jokes about eating disorders. One fighter told me: 'I don't even recognise myself anymore,' echoing the public experiences of UFC fighter Paddy Pimblett, who has shared his struggles with binge eating and body image. These stories hit close to home. During my own time in MMA, I developed atypical anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder. I was praised for rapid weight loss – not for my skill or performance. At one point, I was training to the point of experiencing heart palpitations, dizziness and nausea. Yet, these symptoms were brushed off as signs of 'good training'. Even when I lived in a larger body, I was still suffering from an eating disorder. This is a crucial reminder: you cannot tell if someone is unwell just by looking at them. This isn't just an issue in fight sports. Disordered eating affects athletes across many disciplines. Footballer Katrina Gorry, cricketer Freddy Flintoff and cyclist Davide Cimolai are just a few high-profile athletes who have spoken publicly about their experiences. In fact, disordered thoughts can affect athletes at any stage of their careers. Today, even after competing internationally in American football and Australian rules football, I still live with disordered thinking around food and body image. Elite female athletes can be particularly vulnerable. According to the 2023 female athlete health report, 74% of respondents said they didn't feel like they looked like an athlete and 91% worried about their calorie intake. The 2024 BBC study on elite British sportswomen found similar results, reflecting the persistent pressure to conform to narrow body ideals. There have been some encouraging policy changes. In MMA, emergency rules now ban extreme weight-cutting methods like IV rehydration, where fluids and electrolytes are administered directly into a vein, bypassing the digestive system. British Gymnastics, the body governing competitive gymnastics in the UK, has banned coaches from weighing athletes – a major move given the sport's documented issues. However, these steps are just the beginning. Power imbalances still exist across many sports, where coaches wield enormous influence over an athlete's health, body and sense of self. Coaches can either be a force for recovery – or part of the problem. They must be better trained to spot early signs of disordered behaviour, provide support and promote a culture that values mental wellbeing over appearance. To create safer sporting environments, we need better signposting for athletes on how to get help, education for coaches and staff on eating disorder awareness, a cultural shift from bodily perfection and towards sustainable performance and health and athlete-first policies that protect both physical and mental wellbeing. Recovery is possible. But prevention – through awareness, education and empathy – can save lives long before treatment is ever needed. Sport should be a place for strength, growth and resilience – not hidden harm.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘I don't even recognise myself anymore': the reality of eating disorders in sport
The UK is facing what charities are calling an eating disorder epidemic, with an estimated 1.25 million people affected. These conditions have the highest mortality rate of any mental health illness, making early intervention and education urgent. Yet, within the world of sport, eating disorders often go undetected and unchallenged. Disordered behaviour, such as restricting food intake, purging, binge eating, or abusing laxatives, are sometimes normalised in competitive environments, embedded into routines and disguised as dedication. Eating disorders thrive in silence. They're secretive, isolating and can affect athletes of all genders, ages and backgrounds, whether at grassroots or elite levels. In sport, several factors can trigger or worsen disordered behaviour: pressure to perform, body dissatisfaction, weight-category requirements and cultural ideals of what an 'athletic' body should look like. In this context, harmful practices like dehydration, extreme weight-cutting and overtraining often become accepted – and are sometimes even encouraged. Read more: In some sports, the risks are tragically clear. Take bodybuilding. One heartbreaking example is 20-year-old Jodi Vance, who died from heart failure caused by dehydration during preparations for a competition. In combat sports and martial arts, eating disorders are frequently acknowledged, yet meaningful solutions are rarely discussed. Fighters like Paige VanZant and Kay Hansen have openly shared their struggles with disordered eating, which in many sports, is still dismissed as just 'part of the process'. Even worse, some coaches perpetuate a toxic culture by fat-shaming athletes or joking about serious conditions like bulimia. In such environments, young athletes can become trapped in cycles of physical and emotional harm. In my own research with UK-based mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, I spent months observing and interviewing athletes across various gyms. Many described extreme weight-loss tactics before fights – dropping both fat and water weight in dangerously short time frames. These methods took a toll on both their bodies and mental health. I witnessed fighters collapse from exhaustion and dehydration. I heard coaches make jokes about eating disorders. One fighter told me: 'I don't even recognise myself anymore,' echoing the public experiences of UFC fighter Paddy Pimblett, who has shared his struggles with binge eating and body image. These stories hit close to home. During my own time in MMA, I developed atypical anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder. I was praised for rapid weight loss – not for my skill or performance. At one point, I was training to the point of experiencing heart palpitations, dizziness and nausea. Yet, these symptoms were brushed off as signs of 'good training'. Even when I lived in a larger body, I was still suffering from an eating disorder. This is a crucial reminder: you cannot tell if someone is unwell just by looking at them. This isn't just an issue in fight sports. Disordered eating affects athletes across many disciplines. Footballer Katrina Gorry, cricketer Freddy Flintoff and cyclist Davide Cimolai are just a few high-profile athletes who have spoken publicly about their experiences. In fact, disordered thoughts can affect athletes at any stage of their careers. Today, even after competing internationally in American football and Australian rules football, I still live with disordered thinking around food and body image. Elite female athletes can be particularly vulnerable. According to the 2023 female athlete health report, 74% of respondents said they didn't feel like they looked like an athlete and 91% worried about their calorie intake. The 2024 BBC study on elite British sportswomen found similar results, reflecting the persistent pressure to conform to narrow body ideals. Read more: There have been some encouraging policy changes. In MMA, emergency rules now ban extreme weight-cutting methods like IV rehydration, where fluids and electrolytes are administered directly into a vein, bypassing the digestive system. British Gymnastics, the body governing competitive gymnastics in the UK, has banned coaches from weighing athletes – a major move given the sport's documented issues. However, these steps are just the beginning. Power imbalances still exist across many sports, where coaches wield enormous influence over an athlete's health, body and sense of self. Coaches can either be a force for recovery – or part of the problem. They must be better trained to spot early signs of disordered behaviour, provide support and promote a culture that values mental wellbeing over appearance. To create safer sporting environments, we need better signposting for athletes on how to get help, education for coaches and staff on eating disorder awareness, a cultural shift from bodily perfection and towards sustainable performance and health and athlete-first policies that protect both physical and mental wellbeing. Recovery is possible. But prevention – through awareness, education and empathy – can save lives long before treatment is ever needed. Sport should be a place for strength, growth and resilience – not hidden harm. If anything in this article causes distress or concern about eating disorders, visit the BEAT website for more information and support. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Zoe John received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for her Doctoral research. Zoe also volunteers as a lived experience ambassador for the eating disorder charity, Beat.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
GFL unveils full 31-fight lineup for kickoff double-header events, including 42 UFC veterans
Paige VanZant is officially back in MMA. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) (Chris Unger via Getty Images) The Global Fight League's (GFL) ambitious first season is beginning to take shape. The new team-based MMA organization on Monday unveiled it's two-day, 31-fight lineup for its kickoff double-header events, which feature 42 UFC veterans and nine former UFC/Bellator champions (including interim champions). Advertisement The inaugural two-day lineup takes place on Saturday, May 24, and Sunday, May 25, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. Notable matchups on the May 24 kickoff card include a trilogy bout between former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao and UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber, the MMA return of Chad Mendes against Maike Linhares, the revival of the rivalry between former WEC/UFC lightweight champions Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis, as well as a meeting between former UFC champion Holly Holm and former Bellator champion Julia Budd. Matchups on the May 25 card include Dillon Danis against UFC legend Tony Ferguson, the return of former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, ex-Bellator champs Douglas Lima and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane taking on UFC veterans Uriah Hall and Vivane Pereira, plus UFC notables Alexander Gustafsson vs. Ovince Saint Preux and the MMA return of Paige VanZant. Advertisement GFL's complete two-day lineup for May 24-25 can be seen below. Saturday, May 24 (4:30 p.m. ET) Team Sao Paulo vs. Team Los Angeles Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber Maike Linhares vs. Chad Mendes Lucas Martins vs. Sage Northcutt Alejandra Lara vs. Aspen Ladd Joice Mara vs. Jessica Penne Team London vs. Team New York Benson Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis Julia Budd vs. Holly Holm Omari Akhmedov vs. Derek Brunson Danny Roberts vs. Neiman Gracie Kelly Staddon vs. Marisa Belenchia Team Dubai vs. Team Miami Ray Borg vs. Marlon Moraes Todd Duffee vs. Robelis Despaigne Alexa Conners vs. Cat Zingano Khumoyun Tukhtamurodov vs. Charles Rosa Alex Oliveira vs. Gleison Tibau Sunday, May 25 (4:30 p.m. ET) Team New York vs. Team Los Angeles Dillon Danis vs. Tony Ferguson Team Sao Paulo vs. Team Los Angeles Fabricio Werdum vs. TBA Douglas Lima vs. Uriah Hall Vivane Pereira vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane Carlos Petruzzella vs. Lorenz Larkin Ronny Markes vs. Da Woon Jung Team London vs. Team New York Alexander Gustafsson vs. Ovince Saint Preux Stuart Austin vs. Alan Belcher Cameron Else vs. Jimmie Rivera Mike Grundy vs. Kai Kamaka Josefine Knutsson vs. Miao Ding Team Dubai vs. Team Miami
USA Today
23-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Photos: Paige VanZant through the years
Web Summit 2018 In Lisbon LISBON, PORTUGAL - NOVEMBER 08: Paige VanZant, UFC, on Centre Stage during day three of Web… LISBON, PORTUGAL - NOVEMBER 08: Paige VanZant, UFC, on Centre Stage during day three of Web Summit 2018 at the Altice Arena on November 8, 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. In 2018, more than 70,000 attendees from over 170 countries will fly to Lisbon for Web Summit, including over 1,500 startups, 1,200 speakers and 2,600 international journalists. (Photo by Sam Barnes /Web Summit via Getty Images)
