They are doing studies on everything these days.
A new study by the University of South Carolina has found that those cheerleaders that wear midriff-baring uniforms are at an extremely high risk of developing eating disorders.
South Carolina officials polled 136 college cheerleaders and found fully one-third feel that they have to live up to an image of how they should look in their cheerleading uniforms, and "They thought the coaches wanted them to be smaller than they actually really were. It's amazing, the impact a coach has on a cheerleader."
Can this be right? They are cheerleaders, they choose to be. Nobody is holding a gun to their head to make them do this. If the pressure is too much, they need to join intramural sports or find something else to do to support their school.
The study, among other things, asked cheerleaders what they felt like in street clothes, cheering uniforms and midriff-baring uniforms. Those wearing the latter were at greater risk for body-image issues and other disorders, she found.
"Regardless of whether it was daily clothing, a full uniform or a midriff uniform, they all wanted to be smaller. But the thing that stuck out the most was they wanted to be smallest in the midriff uniform, which says a lot about the impact of a midriff."
Maybe we need to go back to cheerleading outfits of the past.
The fact that there was a study done on this, and that the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA) in Memphis is looking into this shows they have too much time on their hands and they are bowing to political pressure from somebody. I bet Nancy Pelosi and Gloria Allred are involved at some level.
There are many other sociatial pressures that are causing girls to have eating disorders. This has been going on for a long time, maybe we need to abolish the Victoria's Secret catalog and the Miss America pageant as well.
I just thought of a great parody song Weird Al could do. "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboy's Cheerleaders."
