Sporting performance at the highest level demands rigorous attention to fuelling, recovery and hydration as a minimum. Attention to nutritional strategies that facilitate adaptations to physiology, body composition and metabolism that can drive performance gains may also be implemented. Training and competition schedules are meticulously planned to optimise performance at the right times. Athletes in this sphere talk of their bodies being ‘routinely and ceaselessly monitored’ along with ‘surrendering their time, space and activity to the rigours of the discipline’.1

  1. Jones L, Avner Z, Denison J. ‘After the Dust Settles’: Foucauldian Narratives of Retired Athletes ‘Re-orientation’ to Exercise. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. 2022
  2. Simon JE, Docherty CL. Current Health-Related Quality of Life Is Lower in Former Division I Collegiate Athletes Than in Non–Collegiate Athletes. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2014.42:423-429
  3. Palmer D, Cooper DJ, Emery C, et al. Self-Reported sports injuries and later life health status in 3357 retired Olympians from 131 countries: a cross-sectional survey among those competing in the games between London 1948 and PyeongChang 2018. Br J Sports Med 2021.55:46–53
  4. Thornton J, Rosen C, Davenport M et al. Beyond the medals; a cross-sectional study exploring retired elite female athletes health. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 2022. doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2022-001479
  5. American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2016 48(3):543-568
  6. Bellomo G, Piscopo P, Corbo M et al. A systematic review on the risk of neurodegenerative diseases and neurocognitive disorders in professional and varsity athletes. Neurol Sci. 2022.43:6667-6691
  7. Nattiv A, Loucks AB, Manore MM, et al. American College of Sports Medicine. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. The female athlete triad. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007.39(10):1867-82
  8. Dobranowska K, Plińska S, Dobosz A. Dietary and Lifestyle Management of Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea: A Comprehensive Review. Nutrients. 2024. 3;16(17):2967
  9. British Dietetic Association (2023) Osteoporisis and Diet. Food Facts by the British Dietetic Association. Available: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/osteoporosis-diet.html Accessed March 2026
  10. Raihan N, Cogburn M. Stages of Change Theory. [Updated 2023 Mar 6]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan. Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556005/
  11. Thomson J and Almstedt H. Intuitive eating and the female athlete triad in collegiate runners. Nutrients 2025.17:2337 doi:10.3390/nu17142337
  12. Katcher JA, Suminski RR, Pacanowski CR. Impact of an Intuitive Eating Intervention on Disordered Eating Risk Factors in Female-Identifying Undergraduates: A Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2022.19:12049
  13. Linardon J, Mitchell S. Rigid dietary control, flexible dietary control, and intuitive eating: Evidence for their differential relationship to disordered eating and body image concerns. Eat. Behav. 2017.26:16–22
  14. Van Dyke N, Drinkwater EJ. Relationships between intuitive eating and health indicators: literature review. Public Health Nutrition. 2014.17:1757–1766. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980013002139
  15. Towsin E. Intuitive eating explained: Benefits, principles and how to get started. British Dietetic Association. 2025. Available: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/intuitive-eating-explained.html Accessed March 2026
  16. Tylka TL, Kroon Van Diest AM. The Intuitive Eating Scale-2: item refinement and psychometric evaluation with college women and men. J Couns Psychol 2013. 60 137–153
  17. Voorheis P, Silver M, Consonni J. Adaptation to life after sport for retired athletes: A scoping review of existing reviews and programs. PLoS ONE 2023.18(9): https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291683

About the Author: Joanne Mainwaring, RD

Joanne is a Freelance Dietitian who is passionate about sports dietetics and public health approaches. As a senior fellow of the higher education academy, she supports nursing, public health nutrition and dietetics programmes.

Leave A Comment

Sporting performance at the highest level demands rigorous attention to fuelling, recovery and hydration as a minimum. Attention to nutritional strategies that facilitate adaptations to physiology, body composition and metabolism that can drive performance gains may also be implemented. Training and competition schedules are meticulously planned to optimise performance at the right times. Athletes in this sphere talk of their bodies being ‘routinely and ceaselessly monitored’ along with ‘surrendering their time, space and activity to the rigours of the discipline’.1

  1. Jones L, Avner Z, Denison J. ‘After the Dust Settles’: Foucauldian Narratives of Retired Athletes ‘Re-orientation’ to Exercise. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. 2022
  2. Simon JE, Docherty CL. Current Health-Related Quality of Life Is Lower in Former Division I Collegiate Athletes Than in Non–Collegiate Athletes. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2014.42:423-429
  3. Palmer D, Cooper DJ, Emery C, et al. Self-Reported sports injuries and later life health status in 3357 retired Olympians from 131 countries: a cross-sectional survey among those competing in the games between London 1948 and PyeongChang 2018. Br J Sports Med 2021.55:46–53
  4. Thornton J, Rosen C, Davenport M et al. Beyond the medals; a cross-sectional study exploring retired elite female athletes health. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 2022. doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2022-001479
  5. American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2016 48(3):543-568
  6. Bellomo G, Piscopo P, Corbo M et al. A systematic review on the risk of neurodegenerative diseases and neurocognitive disorders in professional and varsity athletes. Neurol Sci. 2022.43:6667-6691
  7. Nattiv A, Loucks AB, Manore MM, et al. American College of Sports Medicine. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. The female athlete triad. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007.39(10):1867-82
  8. Dobranowska K, Plińska S, Dobosz A. Dietary and Lifestyle Management of Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea: A Comprehensive Review. Nutrients. 2024. 3;16(17):2967
  9. British Dietetic Association (2023) Osteoporisis and Diet. Food Facts by the British Dietetic Association. Available: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/osteoporosis-diet.html Accessed March 2026
  10. Raihan N, Cogburn M. Stages of Change Theory. [Updated 2023 Mar 6]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan. Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556005/
  11. Thomson J and Almstedt H. Intuitive eating and the female athlete triad in collegiate runners. Nutrients 2025.17:2337 doi:10.3390/nu17142337
  12. Katcher JA, Suminski RR, Pacanowski CR. Impact of an Intuitive Eating Intervention on Disordered Eating Risk Factors in Female-Identifying Undergraduates: A Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2022.19:12049
  13. Linardon J, Mitchell S. Rigid dietary control, flexible dietary control, and intuitive eating: Evidence for their differential relationship to disordered eating and body image concerns. Eat. Behav. 2017.26:16–22
  14. Van Dyke N, Drinkwater EJ. Relationships between intuitive eating and health indicators: literature review. Public Health Nutrition. 2014.17:1757–1766. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980013002139
  15. Towsin E. Intuitive eating explained: Benefits, principles and how to get started. British Dietetic Association. 2025. Available: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/intuitive-eating-explained.html Accessed March 2026
  16. Tylka TL, Kroon Van Diest AM. The Intuitive Eating Scale-2: item refinement and psychometric evaluation with college women and men. J Couns Psychol 2013. 60 137–153
  17. Voorheis P, Silver M, Consonni J. Adaptation to life after sport for retired athletes: A scoping review of existing reviews and programs. PLoS ONE 2023.18(9): https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291683

About the Author: Joanne Mainwaring, RD

Joanne is a Freelance Dietitian who is passionate about sports dietetics and public health approaches. As a senior fellow of the higher education academy, she supports nursing, public health nutrition and dietetics programmes.

Leave A Comment

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