Avoiding Eating Disorder Triggers: Athletes Can’t Talk About Food? Q&A With Dr Paula Quatromoni

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This Q&A was originally part of the third Q&A here, but is republished below to separate and make it easier to find questions/topics. This is part of a Q&A series with the leading expert in eating disorders and sports and registered dietitian, Dr. Paula Quatromoni.

 

Q: One running program forbids athletes to talk about or even post about food on social media because they think it will help stop the spread of eating disorders. What are your thoughts?

A: To me, this is silly. Eating habits, food behaviors, and attitudes about food are contagious in our culture regardless of social media. A different approach for the leadership in this program could be to invest in educating their athletes about responsible use of social media and working to build a supportive team culture where there is zero-tolerance for food shaming, body shaming, or promotion of restrictive eating or dieting culture. Social media posts and open discussions about food, if managed strategically and with some ground rules, can be quite positive and can role model healthy strategies for fueling athletes and sharing evidence-based recommendations.

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What if an Athlete Denies Having a Possible Eating Disorder? Q&A with Dr. Paula Quatromoni

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This Q&A was originally part of the second Q&A here, but is republished below to separate and make it easier to find questions/topics. This is part of a Q&A series with the leading expert in eating disorders and sports and registered dietitian, Dr. Paula Quatromoni. For more Q&As click here.


Q: What do you do if an athlete denies having an eating disorder, but the coach (or anyone else) really feels that something is wrong?

You should fully expect denial and you should prepare for it. The tips suggested here are the keys to the conversation: state your concerns, stick to the facts, rely on your own observations, and make your referral to talk to an expert. When the athlete denies and refuses, simply return the conversation with authority and confidence to what it is you recommend: a conversation with the athletic trainer (AT).

Let the AT do the rest of the work by fully assessing the situation. The AT has access to screening tools that can help discern the scope of the problem and bring awareness to the athlete and to the parents. ATs are trained to assess, treat, and refer athletes for appropriate interventions. This is their job.

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Can Coaches Tell Athletes to Lose Weight? Q&A with Dr. Paula Quatromoni

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This Q&A was originally part of the first Q&A here, but is republished below to separate and make it easier to find questions/topics. This is part of a Q&A series with the leading expert in eating disorders and sports and registered dietitian, Paula Quatromoni. For more Q&As click here.

Q: Can coaches tell athletes to lose weight?

A (Dr. Quatromoni): Weight concerns should be managed by a qualified nutrition professional, not a coach. So if a coach has a concern about an athlete’s weight, he/she should express that concern to the nutrition professional (not to the athlete). The coach should let the nutritionist assess the athlete, determine whether weight change is appropriate, and initiate a proper plan of nutrition intervention.

The work between the nutritionist and the athlete should remain private and confidential. A coach should place full trust that the nutritionist is managing the case and monitoring the athlete’s progress towards goals. This allows the coach to focus interactions with the athlete on skill, technique, and training, not on weight.

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Should Coaches Weigh Their Athletes? Q&A with Paula Quatromoni

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This Q&A was originally a part of the first Q&A here, but was republished as a new post to separate and make it easier to find questions/topics. This is part of a Q&A series with leading expert in eating disorders and sports and registered dietitian, Paula Quatromoni.
For more Q&As click here.

Q: Should coaches weigh their athletes to make sure their weight doesn’t get too low?

A (Paula Quatromoni): Coaches should NOT be weighing athletes.

If necessary for concern about an eating disorder, weight should only be monitored by a sports medicine professional (MD, AT or Nutritionist) – not the coach. An athlete that a coach is concerned about their weight dropping too low needs medical evaluation and supervision, and most likely they need intervention and treatment as well. All of these tasks are beyond the scope of the coach’s expertise, making it clear that monitoring weight is not the coach’s responsibility.

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The Professionals to Bring in for Student-Athletes With Eating Disorders (Q&A with Paula Quatromoni)

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In this Q&A series, Dr. Paula Quatromoni (DSc, RD) answers some of the biggest questions coaches and athletic staff have to better prevent and assist athletes who may be struggling with eating disorders.

Q: Who is Needed on the Athlete Care Team For an Athlete With Disordered Eating?

A: Athletics programs at every level need to have someone identified as the point person for eating concerns, if not a full Eating Concerns Team that meets and communicates regularly about athletes at risk or in treatment. In most situations, an athletic trainer (AT) would fill this leadership role. The other members of an Eating Concerns Team would be multidisciplinary, to the extent that these providers exist.

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3 Ways Coaches Can Help Prevent Eating Disorders in Athletes (Q&A with Paula Quatromoni)

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In this Q&A series, Dr. Paula Quatromoni (DSc, RD) answers some of the biggest questions coaches and athletic staff have to better prevent and assist athletes who may be struggling with eating disorders.

Q: What can coaches do to prevent eating disorders?

Education

First, coaches need to get educated about eating disorders in sport from credible professional sources like the National Eating Disorders Association (www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/sites/default/files/Toolkits/CoachandTrainerToolkit.pdf). Coaches and athletics administrators can also bring professionals in to educate athletes and support staff about eating disorders in sport.

Eating disorders are poorly understood, probably more so inside sport than in the general public. There are stereotypes and sources of stigma that perpetuate faulty beliefs about who is at risk and what an eating disorder “looks like.” Coaches, strength coaches, athletic trainers (ATs), doctors, parents and athletes all need education about eating disorders in sport, the unique sport-specific risk factors, the negative impact on health and sport performance, and the diverse ways in which eating disorders present. There is no one universal sign or symptom of an eating disorder. Eating disorders do not discriminate; they occur in males and females, in individuals in smaller bodies and larger bodies, and in all sports.

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What Can You Do if a Coach is Uncomfortable Addressing Eating Disorders? (Q&A with Paula Quatromoni)

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This is part of a Q&A series with the leading expert in eating disorders and sports, Paula Quatromoni. For more Q&As click here.

Q: There is suspicion that there are athletes struggling with eating disorders on a high school sports team. The coach hasn’t addressed these issues even though he is concerned and is aware that it’s a problem. A mom, amongst a few other parents, brought this up and feels eating disorders/body image should be addressed. Should parents bring it to the attention of the athletic trainers next? Bring in the school counselor?

A: It sounds like this mom has a concern about the culture on this team in relation to body image and unsafe dieting practices, and she wants it addressed. That the coach is aware and reportedly concerned but is not taking action is a red flag to me. The coach sets the tone for team culture and, to a certain extent, is responsible for the safety and well-being of his athletes in relation to how he coaches, communicates, and interacts with them. By ignoring his concerns, he is silently (or maybe actively) condoning the culture that endorses, perpetuates and sustains unhealthy behaviors. This puts athletes at risk of injury and other physical and emotional consequences.

Don’t Accept Inaction

There are several possible scenarios, but none condone inaction. It could be that the coach is uneducated about the dangers of eating disorders and the risks of this culture to his athletes’ well-being. It could be that the coach actually holds and role models the common yet faulty belief system that thinness is the key to athletic performance. If the coach is giving his athletes advice about nutrition that includes weight loss, fad diets or restrictive eating, he is creating a potentially dangerous situation for his athletes. No matter how well-intentioned, the coach is not likely a trained nutrition professional qualified to give accurate and appropriate nutrition advice. Through his behaviors and/or his words, he could be setting expectations either overtly or covertly that are driving disordered eating behaviors in his athletes. It could also be that the coach simply has no idea how to address eating disorders, is afraid of doing the wrong thing, or believes it is not his “turf,” so he is opting not to intervene.

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How Can a Coach Support an Athlete With an Eating Disorder? Paula Quatromoni Q&A

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This is part of a Q&A series with leading expert in eating disorders and sports, Paula Quatromoni. For more Q&As click here.

Q (Anonymous): I’m a coach with an athlete who told me they are struggling with an eating disorder and they are getting treatment. The athlete asked me to keep them accountable. How can I do this? Should I monitor their weight and food?

Accountability

A (Paula Quatromoni, DSc, MS, RD, LDN): I would ask the athlete, “What do you mean by “keep me accountable?” Can you say more about specifically what you are asking of me?” I would not make any assumptions about what the athlete means. It is very important to set some boundaries and clear expectations about what the coach can and cannot do related to appropriate kinds of support for an athlete with an eating disorder. Leaving expectations vague leaves room for misunderstanding, misinterpretation and misplaced responsibility. Clear expectations and ground rules are best!

Experts Needed

First, let’s be clear about this: it is not the coach’s responsibility or within the scope of a coach’s training and expertise to monitor an athlete’s weight or food intake. This is particularly dangerous in the case of an athlete with an eating disorder because it could delay timely diagnosis and proper intervention. Anything that delays timely diagnosis and treatment of an eating disorder escalates the health risks for the athlete, increases risk of injury, and lowers the likelihood of recovery.

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Bringing Mental Health Education to Coaches and Athletes in Michigan

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As many of you might know, I coach high school cross country and track in Michigan and I’m required to take trainings on the sports rules and how to spot concussions. These trainings are run by the MHSAA, which is also a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations. Of course, with my eye for mental health and eating disorders, I noticed that there were no required trainings on how to identify mental health issues in our athletes (something I’ve already witnessed in the few years of coaching).

But when I went to the Stomp Out Stigma walk a few weeks ago, I spoke with Christy Buck, CEO of the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan, who shared the great news that there would now be an Action Plan implemented by the MHSAA to educate coaches on how to spot possible mental health issues in their athletes. It’s my greatest hope that we can get more trainings like this in all athletic/coaching programs, and I’m so thankful the MHSAA took this on, that I had to learn more and share:

Representing the Michigan Eating Disorders Alliance with Director Gail Hall just before Christy Buck told us about the Action Plan for the MHSAA

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Coaches in the Dark: What Can Athletic Staff Do in Eating Disorder Situations?

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Having had an eating disorder as an athlete, I’ve been hyper-aware of the signs to look for in the athletes I coach. I knew, from my eating disorder experience, that if I suspected an athlete was struggling, it was my responsibility to refer them to a mental health professional and/or a dietitian for a proper evaluation. I even started doing homework to look for available resources in our area.

But I still felt like I was in the dark. Was I following all the right steps? How did other coaches know what to do in these situations? It wasn’t until a year ago that I realized that athletic trainers—staff right within the school—have formal education and training to recognize, screen and triage signs and symptoms of eating disorders in sport. In fact, most use an eating disorder protocol to begin the evaluation process, make referrals for intervention, and guide decisions about whether and when it is safe to participate in sport.

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