Across sports, athletes push themselves to excel. The pressure to succeed can be internal – setting a personal best – and external – a “no-pain, no-gain” sports culture. However, this drive to achieve can come with the cost of an unbalanced relationship between food, exercise and overall health.
The issue entered the spotlight on July 6 when two doctors resigned from the International Federation of Sport Climbing medical commission. Both doctors allege the governing body that organizes and oversees competition climbing was not doing enough to address a systemic health issue facing the sport: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S).
The syndrome is defined by low energy availability due to disordered eating and caloric restrictions. Left untreated, it can negatively impact the body in a variety of ways, including early onset osteoporosis, heart damage and psychological health impacts.
As both a climber and therapist, Emily Hemendinger, MPH, LCSW, clinical director of the OCD Program and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, sees the impact RED-S and disordered eating has on her athlete patients.
“I think we do need to move away from focusing on appearance as a measure of fitness and health,” said Hemendinger. “We make harmful assumptions that can lead to weight stigma or lead us to encourage someone to continue their restrictive eating and overexercise.”
In the following Q&A, Hemendinger breaks down why eating disorders are seen in athletes and how treatment can create healthier connections between individuals and their sport.