RUNNERS ARE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO BOTH EATING DISORDERS AND DISORDERED EATING,

REPORTS SIMON WARD

IN-DEPTH REPORT

From the pros to amateurs to occasional joggers, keeping an eye on our weight is a pastime just about all runners do. But as a runner, you are twice as likely to suffer from an eating disorder than non-athletes. So where does calorie counting end and toxic eating behaviours begin?

WHAT IS AN EATING DISORDER?

Sounds a simple question, doesn’t it? If you are starving yourself or intentionally vomiting up meals, you have an eating disorder, that’s what many people think. But would you class someone who undertakes a 2:5 fast or a juice cleanse in the same bracket as someone with bulimia nervosa? Many wouldn’t, but the same psychological drivers that make people vulnerable to the latter come from the former.

Louise Capicotto, a sports psychologist at Loughborough University, explains that disordered eating (DE) in runners includes concerns about bodyweight and shape; poor nutrition or inadequate calorie intake, or both; use of laxatives, diuretics and diet pills; and extreme weight control methods, such as fasting, vomiting and excessive exercise.