Eating Disorders: Renee McGregor

Eating disorders are significantly more common within the world of sport than the rest of the population, and appear to be on the rise. In this episode of DTMTS, leading Sports and Eating disorder specialist Renee McGregor sits down with Simon Mundie to explain why, and what can be done about it. Renee has 20 years of experience working in clinical and performance nutrition, with Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth teams. She is also the author of ‘Orthorexia, When Healthy Eating Goes Bad’, as well as a number of other books on nutrition and healthy eating, and is the co- founder of #TRAINBRAVE, a campaign raising the awareness of eating disorders in sport. Renee reveals some of the signs that indicate someone might have an eating disorder, and why food is the symptom of a deeper problem. They discuss the negative impact social media can have, and why it’s your keen amateur athletes rather than elite sportspeople who might be the biggest danger group. Renee talks about various diets- including low-carb, intermittent fasting and veganism- and explains how some people use them as a way to develop a controlling relationship with food. They talk about the importance of balance, relaxation and moderation, and the dangers of overtraining- and why working out your values and basing you self-esteem on them, rather than external validation, is key.