Episode 39: Body Image in Endurance Sports

In this episode of ‘All Things Endurance Podcast,’ host, Rick Prince chats with journalist and writer, ZoëRom and registered dietitian, Kylee Van Horn. Zoë and Kylee are co-hosts of the podcast, ‘Your Diet Sucks.’ 

This is the third and final podcast in a three-part podcast series with Zoë and Kylee. Previous episodes in this series include Episode 33: Why Athletes Fall for Pseudoscience and Fad Diets and Episode 38: The Truth About Racing Weight 

Below are the areas that Rick, Zoëand Kylee chat about during this episode: 

1.       When it comes to endurance sports, often there is an emphasis on body weight from a performance standpoint. However, what is not discussed as often in endurance sports is body weight/image from an aesthetic point of view. Could you discuss how these two areas – performance and aesthetics interrelate?

2.       While speculative, do you think that a fair amount of people get into endurance athletics for the primary purpose of losing weight and to improve their body image?

3.       Could you explain what traditional body positivity is, and how it often misses the mark?

4.       For our listeners that don’t know what body dysmorphia is, could you define it and how it shows up in endurance sports?

5.       As we discussed in the previous podcast, there is often an obsession in endurance sports to reduce body weight, which often results in disordered eating. As such, do you think that some individuals get into endurance sports because as a whole, these sports normalize being underweight – often to a drastic amount?

6.      If a coach suspects that one of their athletes may have body dysmorphia and/or disordered eating, what should their action plan be?

7.      In your opinion, what are some steps that those in the endurance sports industry could take to reduce the overemphasis on low body weight and by association, disordered eating and body dissatisfaction?