Let's Talk About Eating Disorders & Athletes

Show Notes

What is the approach to treating eating disorders in athletes? Are the pressures of having to perform as an athlete increasing the chances of developing an eating disorder? 

In this podcast episode, Kate Fisch speaks with Linda Steinhardt about eating disorders amongst athletes. She discusses the effects that measuring body composition, the pressure to perform and injuries have on athletes and developing eating disorders.

MEET LINDA STEINHARDT

Linda Steinhardt is a registered dietitian based in Denver, Colorado. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, she completed a sports nutrition fellowship at UNC Chapel Hill. She now works at the Athlete EDGE Program within EDCare, an eating disorder treatment center where she supports athletes and general population patients in lasting recovery from eating disorders.

Visit Athlete Edge to find out more.

 

IN THIS PODCAST

• What is body composition testing?

• Is there still a necessity for measuring body composition in athletes?.

• What is the approach for treating eating disorders in athletes?

• Is there pressure for athletes to perfect their performance at a younger age?

 

What is body composition testing?

“Body composition testing is really common, to be honest, in college athletics. I have seen, with body composition testing in colleges, they'll test an athlete 2 to 4 times per year and they'll say: hey here's your muscle percentage, here's your fat percentage.”

Linda Steinhardt

 

So what is the benefit of athletes knowing their body fat percentage etc. ?

“I'm not sure I'm going to be able to help connect the dots. I think there's a lot of reasons why sports physicians in college settings are pressured, in a sense, to do body composition tests.”

Linda Steinhardt

 

It is interesting to think that there might be a belief that knowing your fat percentage (for example) and all of that could help with the goal of improving athletic performance.

 

Are we moving away (at all) from this type of measuring?

“I had seen some more openness and some more curiosity in the field just of why do we do this and is this affecting athletes and is this actually helpful for performance. Are we just doing it because we think we're (quote,unquote) supposed to? And I think that has been a good shift.”

Linda Steinhardt

 

How is the approach to treating an eating disorder in an athlete different to treating someone with an eating disorder who is not an athlete?

“So, I think there is a lot of overlap and I think there's some additional kind of barriers that athletes might face that put them at a higher risk of potentially developing an eating disorder. Often times we look at things like athletes are in really high pressure environments.”

Linda Steinhardt

 

How do you manage the conversation around calories?

“I find, more often than not, food and exercise have become kind of compensatory, even perhaps without athletes recognizing it as such. I think it's helpful to acknowledge that: hey what are the ways in which you notice yourself eating the same or different on rest days? Do you feel better about eating when you play well, or do you find it harder to eat when you have a bad game?”

Linda Steinhardt

 

 When our diet and exercise culture has done us such an immense disservice that it's going to take decades to undo, which is simplifying humans' need for fuel.

 

Do a lot of athletes seem to lose the ability to listen to their bodies?

“That's a conversation we have often. A lot of times people come in and they are really disconnected from their bodies in terms of they don't know, because the way they have been eating is from rules. Over time we can build that kind of intuition and that interoceptive awareness.”

Linda Steinhardt

 

Is there pressure for athletes to perfect their performance at a younger age?

“I think that oftentimes a really big component of things is identity. In athletics often people start from a really young age and they have practices day in and day out. I think it does kind of create a really tough situation for a lot of athletes.” 

Linda Steinhardt

 

The world of performance and body composition is highly pressurized and many athletes will feel they have to lose a certain amount of weight in order to achieve the performance they are aiming for.

It is important for therapists, dealing with athletes, to dig deeper into understanding why an individual believes they need to be at a certain weight to perform. And then begin to reconnect themselves with their bodies and listen to what their bodies actually need.

This is a fascinating topic and as therapists we need to become aware of what affects competitive environments have on athletes, as well as, help teach our clients to be mindful about what they're doing to their bodies.

Linda Steinhardt is filled with valuable insights, information and examples throughout the podcast and it is extremely informative for all therapists.

 

 To learn more about Linda Steinhardt and her work, follow the links below.

RESOURCES MENTIONED AND USEFUL LINKS

Visit Athletic Edge

Click here for the article referenced in the interview with more info on her research.

Article referenced in the interview with more info on her research:

 

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