Telling another person that you plan to lose ten pounds in one day raises concerns. When you tell them you plan to lose ten pounds in one day for a wrestling match, they brush it off and consider it rational. I started wrestling one year ago and was immediately introduced to the concept of weight-cutting. At the winter sports meeting in November last year, my coaches addressed the stereotypes around cutting weight and assured parents and future wrestlers that their physical and mental health would stay stable throughout the season. After wrestling for a full season, I agree with this. My experience in wrestling can be summed up in a quote from my coach, “Discipline eats hard work for breakfast.” A large part of that discipline for me was learning how to cut weight. My coaches recommended I move down two weight classes, so I had to learn how to diet and exercise to shed weight quickly. However, these habits that made me feel healthy can quickly become unhealthy. As I lost weight and learned more about it, something became noticeably clear to me. Athletes who wrestle, male or female, are at a severe risk of developing eating disorders or body dysmorphia due to the culture and “normal” practices in the sport. 
 
Let me start by saying that cutting weight in wrestling is not evil. As I previously stated, I cut a lot of weight for wrestling, which made the sport way more fun. Weight cutting is usually recommended by parents or coaches to take advantage of your own strength. Wrestling at my natural weight, especially as a first-year wrestler, was a great challenge. One could argue that I was at greater risk of getting injured by much stronger opponents than getting injured through cutting weight. The United States also does a respectable job of addressing the dangers of weight-cutting and taking preventive measures. At my preseason weigh-in, the school’s athletic trainer told me about the National Federation of State High School Associations rule stating, “Each wrestler is given a minimum weight that they can drop to and is only allowed to lose 1.5% of their weight per week.” This rule ensures that wrestlers do not go to dangerous lengths to lose weight quickly and makes sure that their weight is constantly monitored. The NFHS also states, “Minimum body fat should not be lower than seven percent for males or 12 percent for females.” This makes sure that wrestlers do not exceed an unhealthy amount of fat lost and are still able to wrestle. Another thing that occurred at my preseason weigh-in was a hydration test, to show that the initial measurement of my natural weight was correct. The issues correlating to weight-cutting are already known and addressed in the wrestling community, but maybe not in other spaces.  
 
After we left the winter sports meeting, my mom expressed her concerns. She told me that she worried about me developing body dysmorphia or an eating disorder if I started cutting weight. To this day, every time I talk about losing weight for wrestling, she tells me I should not. After learning about all the rules associated with weight-cutting, I assured her that I would be okay. However, upon further thought and looking at all the rules, I realized that all the rules defined focus on the wrestler’s physical health. These rules are supposed to preserve their body, which should in turn preserve their mental health, but that is not always the case. Lane Shaffer, a wrestler since seventh grade, writes, “Every time I sat down to eat, I would analyze the calories in the food and plan how I would ‘work it off’ with exercise or purging later,” (Shaffer, Oregon Live). Eating disorders are mostly unknown in male athletes. A study by Dr. Renee D. Rienecke showed that “13% of adolescents will develop an eating disorder by age 20” (Rienecke, Oregon Live). Only 25% of those adolescents are male. The same study found that athletes who play sports like wrestling, dance, and gymnastics are at the highest risk of developing eating disorders. This means that me and all my teammates were at a higher risk of developing eating disorders than our non-athlete classmates. This astounds me, considering the NFHS rules do not state specific rules for how a coach or teammate should identify and approach the situation when another wrestler is experiencing an eating disorder.  
 
So how should weight-cutting be made healthy and safe in the future? The first step to this is to practice awareness and open conversation. Even though eating disorders were known to sprout from wrestling, it still felt weird for me and my teammates to talk about them. Eating disorders to me have always seemed like something young girls had to worry about, not boys in high school. It can feel embarrassing no matter what your gender is to share something so vulnerable about yourself. If coaches started the season with extensive information and resources for their wrestlers on how to deal with eating disorders, I am sure the number of wrestlers developing an eating disorder would become smaller. The NFHS and athletic associations for each state should also begin a campaign to raise awareness in the wrestling community. Callum Bryson of Science Direct states that “around 20–30% of people fail to respond to the best available treatments” (Bryson, Science Direct). Many people experience eating disorders and are unable to speak out about them or receive help. Eating disorders can be resolved much smoother and quicker when the person experiencing them feels like they can talk about their problems safely. If we remove the stigma that wrestlers cannot whine or complain about ‘small’ or ‘normal’ problems like being worried about developing an eating disorder, it will be much easier to prevent them from starting in the first place. 
One counterclaim that I have directly experienced is that cutting weight in wrestling teaches you healthy habits when done right. As I previously stated, cutting weight made me feel like I was healthier and taught me to be more conscious of how I treat my body. Weight cutting can be a necessary and healthy practice, but it can easily be unsafe when done incorrectly. The risks outweigh the benefits, especially when cutting weight is usually for only one wrestling season while an eating disorder can affect your health and well-being for the rest of your life. 
In conclusion, eating disorders and body dysmorphia in wrestling have been underrepresented even though athletes who wrestle are at a severe risk. The solution is not to remove weight-cutting from the sport but to instead open a discussion and make the wrestling room a more comfortable space for people to share their feelings. Coaches, families, trainers, and wrestlers spreading awareness and destigmatizing safety from eating disorders will make treatment and prevention much easier.