Student Athletes

There are approximately 15,000 student athletes across Canada (U SPORTS, n.d.). Student athletes face unique stressors while managing both their participation in athletics and the academic demands of post-secondary. It is important for wellness programming and health promotion campaigns to focus on their needs as both high performing athletes and students facing the rigors of post-secondary education.

In a meta-analysis of athletes and their self-reported disordered eating behaviours, it was demonstrated that one in five athletes are at risk of developing an eating disorder (Ghazzawi et al., 2024).

There is a particular risk of disordered eating for student athletes who engage in exercise dependence – a compulsive preoccupation with exercise that becomes detrimental to their wellbeing (Uriegas et al., 2023). Additionally, there is a higher risk for student athletes who participate in sports with weight- based categories, or where “leanness” is considered to be beneficial for performance or aesthetic purposes (i.e. gymnastics, diving, figure skating, rowing) (Chapa et al., 2022).

Despite some research showing that there is a relationship between participating in athletics and the development of disordered eating, there are also protective factors for student athletes. For example, student athletes report lower levels of body dissatisfaction compared to non-athletes, and participation in “non-lean” sports (such as team-based field sports) can be protective against developing negative body image (Chapa et al., 2022).

Recommendation

Ensure policies and practices around student athletes do not encourage, perpetuate, or entrench disordered eating behaviours.