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Cited by 209Eating Disorders and BehaviorsNutrition, Health and Food BehaviorDoping in Sports

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and National Eating Disorders Collaboration (NEDC) position statement on disordered eating in high performance sport

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Wells, Kimberley R, Jeacocke, Nikki A, Appaneal, Renee, Smith, Hilary D, Vlahovich, Nicole, Burke, Louise M, Hughes, David·2020·British Journal of Sports Medicine
DOI 10.1136/bjsports-2019-101813PMC PMC7588409
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Abstract

Identification, evaluation and management of disordered eating (DE) is complex. DE exists along the spectrum from optimised nutrition through to clinical eating disorders (EDs). Individual athletes can move back and forth along the spectrum of eating behaviour at any point in time over their career and within different stages of a training cycle. Athletes are more likely to present with DE than a clinical ED. Overall, there is a higher prevalence of DE and EDs in athletes compared with non-athletes. Additionally, athletes participating in aesthetic, gravitational and weight-class sports are at higher risk of DE and EDs than those in sports without these characteristics. The evaluation and management of DE requires a cohesive team of professional practitioners consisting of, at minimum, a doctor, a sports dietitian and a psychologist, termed within this statement as the core multidisciplinary team. The Australian Institute of Sport and the National Eating Disorders Collaboration have collaborated to provide this position statement, containing guidelines for athletes, coaches, support staff, clinicians and sporting organisations. The guidelines support the prevention and early identification of DE, and promote timely intervention to optimise nutrition for performance in a safe, supported, purposeful and individualised manner. This position statement is a call to action to all involved in sport to be aware of poor self-image and poor body image among athletes. The practical recommendations should guide the clinical management of DE in high performance sport.

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  • Disordered eating (DE) behaviours, eating disorders (EDs) and/or REDs are common among certain athlete cohorts.

    “Disordered eating (DE) behaviours, eating disorders (EDs) and/or REDs are common among certain athlete cohorts.68”

    From 2023 international olympic committee's (IOC) consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs) (2023) · cites this paper as [68]

    The Background section, under “Prevalence and contributing factors to DE in athletes” (page not provided), reports substantial variation in DE and ED prevalence and identifies aesthetically judged, gravitational and weight-class sports as high-risk cohorts. The copy links DE and EDs to possible RED-S but does not establish that RED-S itself is common in those cohorts. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Wells, K. R., Jeacocke, N. A., Appaneal, R., Smith, H. D., Vlahovich, N., Burke, L. M., & Hughes, D.
Affiliations
  • ACT Government (AU)
  • National Eating Disorders Collaboration (AU)
  • Australian Catholic University (AU)
Corresponding author
Hughes, David
ORCID
Venue
British Journal of Sports Medicine
Publisher
BMJ
Published
2020-07-13
Volume
54
Issue
21
Pages
1247-1258
ISSN
  • 0306-3674 (ISSN-L)
  • 1473-0480
DOI
10.1136/bjsports-2019-101813
PMC
PMC7588409
OpenAlex
W3041439087
Cited by
209
References
11
Citations by year
2026: 31 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 45 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 4
FWCI
9.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • British Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Butterfly Foundation
  • Australian Institute of Sport
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Doping in Sports
Keywords
disordered eating, eating disorders, elite sport, athletes, multidisciplinary team, body image, aesthetic sports, weight-class sports, clinical management, sports dietitians
MeSH terms
Feeding and Eating Disorders, Body Composition, Body Image, Body Weight, Family, Female, Humans, Male, Patient Care Team, Social Support, Bone Density, Nutrition Assessment, Prevalence, Athletes

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