Scale god worship: six nutrition lessons from elite women runners

Female athletes often struggle with nutrition concerns. Surveys suggest about one third of female athletes struggle with food problems. In addition, those women with suboptimal eating practices often stop menstruating regularly and suffer more stress fractures. These well educated athletes undoubtedly know how to fuel-up with premium nutrition, but they don't.

To help uncover some of the stumbling blocks that interfere with eating well, I surveyed the top women runners in the country. The following discussion about some of their nutrition concerns may help resolve recurrent eating problems.

1. Don't try to weigh a certain number on the scale.

Intellectually, you may know weight varies according to how tall you are or your genetic physique. Yet, in reality you strive to weigh less than some self-selected number on the scale, let's say 120 or 110 or even 100 pounds. Among elite women runners who weighed on average 117 pounds, most wanted to weigh 114 pounds and race at 112, regardless if they were 5'6" or 5'4". Unfortunately, there's a high nutritional cost for a 5'6" tall woman to weigh 112-114 pounds, given that 130 would be an appropriate (non-runner's) weight for that height. That nutritional cost is a greater tendency toward eating disorders, stress fractures and reduced performances. One can't help but wonder if these athletes would be at peace with their weight if they had no access to a scale? If you, too, worship the "Scale God," you may benefit from throwing away the scale and tuning in to your energy, strength and stamina--not an arbitrary number.

2. The nutritional and psychological cost to being too thin is draining.

Athletes who strive for "the perfect weight" spend more time and energy battling binges than improving performance. A difference of only two to three pounds can result in peace with food. These women, when originally surveyed in 1985, were plagued with food obsessions and eating disorders. When resurveyed five years later, they were more at peace with food. They were all of three pounds heavier--but mentally healthier. Many reported they'd let go of inappropriate weight goals, were eating more normally and even enjoying occasional treats with fat and sugar.

3. You can gain weight without getting fat.

Everyone thinks when the scale goes up, so does percent body fat. Not always the case. When an obese person gains three pounds, most of those pounds are fat. When a lean athlete gains weight, the weight gain is likely to be more muscle. Of these lean women who reported gaining weight, at least one quarter perceived the weight gain as primarily muscle. Remember muscles improve your performance--they are a help, not a hindrance.

4. Regular menstrual periods are a sign of good nutritional status.

Athletic amenorrhea is commonly related to nutritional problems such as eating disorders, inadequate calories and too little protein. Athletic amenorrhea is often not related to being thin, but rather to the cost of being too thin as a result of suboptimal nutrition and restrictive dieting. One third of these elite athletes reported improved menstrual patterns in 1990 as compared to the original survey. This is a sign of improved nutrition. If you are a woman who has stopped menstruating regularly, note you don't have to "get fat" in order to menstruate regularly. But you do have to eat an appropriate amount of protein and calories.

5. Amenorrhea and stress fractures go hand-in-hand.

The hormones that contribute to regular menstruation also maintain bone density. Consequently, amenorrheic athletes tend to have weaker bones and more stress fractures. More than half of the amenorrheic runners reported stress fractures between 1985 and 1990, compared to only 25% of the women with regular menstrual periods. The runners with stress fractures also reported more eating concerns (anorexia, bulimia, laxative abuse, etc.) than those without fractures. The questions arise: Is being "perfectly thin" worth the price of amenorrhea and stress fractures? How can you be a top athlete if you are injured? Wouldn't lean, fit and healthy be a better goal than sleek, slender and sylphlike?

6. The lightest athlete is not always the fastest athlete.

The lightest runner may be struggling with food problems and restrictive diets that prevent her from being the healthiest and best fueled runner. In this survey, well nourished runners with regular menstrual periods tended to run faster times than the poorly nourished amenorrheic women--a 40 second faster 10K and a five minute faster marathon. Although both regularly menstruating and amenorrheic runners weighed 117 pounds, the amenorrheics were one inch taller, hence relatively lighter. Again, lean, fit and healthy is a better goal than thin at any price. You are more likely to win with good nutrition than a "perfect" weight.

COPYRIGHT 1993 Aerobics and Fitness Association of America
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group