Body dissatisfaction driving youth away from sport

March 19, 2025

Karen Sweaney

Fitness / Sport / Wellness /

Australia's leading charity for eating disorders and body image issues, The Butterfly Foundation, has launched a new campaign in collaboration with top AFL players to shed light on body dissatisfaction in sporting environments.

The Butterfly Trophies Lunch, which was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 12^th March, brough together experts, athletes, and advocates to raise awareness of the impact of body image pressures in sporting environments.

Eating disorders do not discriminate, yet a harmful misconception persists: that they only affect women and girls. However, The Butterfly Foundation notes that in reality, more than one third of Australians living with an eating disorder are male, with numbers growing by almost 33,000 since 2012 and the prevalence of Anorexia Nervosa in men has more than doubled in the past 12 years.

YMCA NSW has highlighted body dissatisfaction is driving young people away from sport, and it's time to change the conversation.

YMCA's sport mentoring programs have seen positive results, from allowing girls to wear their own T-shirts in gymnastics instead of leotards to recruiting diverse trainers as role models. Their approach focuses on resilience, perseverance, and teamwork, not just physical performance.

George Perry, COO of YMCA New South Wales, highlighted the importance of enjoyment and inclusivity in keeping young athletes engaged. Perry noted that it’s about healthy mind and spirit as much as much as a healthy body and added that teaching young athletes life skills such as resilience, perseverance and teamwork are really important parts of learning a sport as well.

With rising concerns about social media-driven body ideals and confidence issues in sport, initiatives like these are crucial to keeping young people active and engaged. The YMCA's programs focus on enjoyment, skill-building, and self-confidence, ensuring young people engage in physical activity for the right reasons.

By shifting the focus from appearance to ability, YMCA NSW and leaders like George Perry are helping young athletes stay in control of their health, confidence, and love for sport - without the pressure of unrealistic body ideals.

The Butterfly Foundation says that by knowing the signs and symptoms, you can spot if young men are struggling with their body image or an eating disorder and direct them to support.

On Butterfly’s website, audiences will be able to access resources to help navigate these conversations, and understand how eating disorders and body image issues present themselves.

Butterfly launched ‘Spot Your Mate’ campaign last year in November in response to the increasing number of men struggling with eating disorders.

Former AFL Player, Brock McLean, is supporting this campaign after he revealed his struggle with Bulimia Nervosa in 2021 and, since then, has used his platform to encourage others to seek help:

“For nearly four years, I suffered in silence with my eating disorder. There were many things preventing me from speaking up – how the world perceives professional athletes, and men more broadly, was a big one.

“More men are suffering from eating disorders than we realise. By having these conversations and showing vulnerability is not weakness, we are proving that it’s okay to speak up and that help is available for anyone facing eating disorders and body image issues.”

More information on The Butterfly Foundation

Image. Credit: Shutterstock