Disordered Eating vs. Eating Disorders: What’s the Difference?
February is Eating Disorder Awareness Month.
As a sports dietitian, I work with athletes every day who are trying to fuel well, perform at their best, and stay healthy. One area that continues to deserve attention is understanding the difference between disordered eating and eating disorders. These terms are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same. And for athletes, knowing the difference can have a major impact on health, performance, and long-term well-being.
What Do We Mean by “Disordered Eating”?
Disordered eating describes a wide range of eating habits that might be considered culturally “normal” on the surface in the sports world, but still put an athlete’s physical and mental health at major risk.
This can include things like:
Restricting food intake, usually voluntarily
Feeling guilty or ashamed about eating certain foods
Binge eating, or regularly feeling out of control around food
Excessive exercise to “make up” for eating
Following rigid food rules or cutting out entire food groups without medical need
These behaviours don’t always necessarily meet the full criteria for a diagnosed eating disorder, but they still matter, and they still cause harm. In sport, they often begin as attempts to control weight, improve appearance, or gain a perceived performance edge. Over time, they can worsen and develop into a clinical eating disorder if not addressed early.
What Is an Eating Disorder?
Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, are medical diagnoses with clear criteria in the DSM-5. They involve severe disruptions in eating patterns along with serious physical and psychological consequences.
Athletes can be especially vulnerable because of:
Performance pressure
Aesthetic expectations
Weight-class requirements
Team culture
Perfectionism
Constant comparison
Research consistently shows that athletes experience eating disorders at higher rates than non-athletes, particularly in aesthetic sports (like dance, figure skating, and gymnastics) and weight-sensitive sports (like rowing, wrestling, and endurance sports).
How Common Are These Problems in Sport?
Studies show that anywhere from 15% to over 60% of athletes may struggle with disordered eating or an eating disorder, rates far higher than in the general population.
While female athletes have historically received more attention in this area, male athletes are also affected, especially in sports where leanness or muscle definition is emphasized. However, men often underreport symptoms because these issues are mistakenly viewed as “female problems.”
Eating disorders can impact everybody.
More advanced screening tools are helping us catch concerns earlier, but underreporting and normalization of harmful behaviours in sports culture remain major barriers.
Why Do Athletes Develop These Issues?
Some of the most common contributing factors include:
Pressure to achieve a certain body type
Believing that losing weight will automatically improve performance
Perfectionistic or high-achieving personality traits
Fear of injury, losing a starting spot, or falling behind
Comparisons to teammates or professional athletes
Mixed messages from coaches, teammates, and social media
These factors can lead to low energy availability: when an athlete isn’t eating enough to support both training and basic body functions. Over time, this can result in the (previously) Female Athlete Triad or (nowadays) RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport), affecting hormones, bone health, immunity, cardiovascular health, and overall performance.
The Impact on Health and Performance
Disordered eating and eating disorders aren’t just about food, they affect every system in the body. Athletes may experience:
Fatigue and poor recovery
Slower reaction times
Frequent injuries
Decreased strength and endurance
Mood changes, anxiety, or depression
Digestive issues
Irregular or absent menstrual cycles
Reduced bone density
Over time, these issues can end careers, or lead to long-lasting health complications.
Why This Matters for Coaches, Parents, and Athletes
Early recognition is key. Disordered eating is often the first sign that something is off, and addressing it early can prevent a more serious eating disorder from developing. It also protects athletic performance, because no athlete performs well when they’re under-fuelled or struggling mentally.
As sports dietitians, we play a critical role in breaking down myths, supporting athletes with science-based guidance, and creating a safe environment where they can talk openly about their relationship with food and body image.
If you or your athletes are struggling with disordered eating and would like to work with a dietitian, let’s talk!
Final Thoughts
As we mark Eating Disorder Awareness Month, it’s a good time to reflect on the pressures that athletes face and how we can better support them. Education, open communication, and early intervention can help athletes build healthier relationships with food, while still pursuing their performance goals.
Fueling well should never come at the expense of physical or mental health. By understanding the differences between disordered eating and eating disorders, we can better protect athletes, guide them more effectively, and help them perform at their best in a sustainable, healthy way.
Hope this helped!
Maria Tanielian
Registered Dietitian/Nutritionniste
IOC Diploma in Sports Nutrition
ODNQ # 7223, CDBC # 2815, SDA # 949, CDO #16856
Studies Worth Reading With An Open Mind
Arcelus, J., Witcomb, G., & Mitchell, A. (2013). Prevalence of eating disorders amongst dancers: a systemic review and meta‐analysis. European Eating Disorders Review, 22(2), 92-101. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.2271
Beals, K. and Manore, M. (2002). Disorders of the female athlete triad among collegiate athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 12(3), 281-293. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.12.3.281
Bratland‐Sanda, S. and Sundgot‐Borgen, J. (2012). Eating disorders in athletes: overview of prevalence, risk factors and recommendations for prevention and treatment. European Journal of Sport Science, 13(5), 499-508. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2012.740504
Cobb, K., Bachrach, L., Greendale, G., Marcus, R., Neer, R., Nieves, J., … & Kelsey, J. (2003). Disordered eating, menstrual irregularity, and bone mineral density in female runners. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 35(5), 711-719. https://doi.org/10.1249/01.mss.0000064935.68277.e7
DiPasquale, L. and Petrie, T. (2013). Prevalence of disordered eating: a comparison of male and female collegiate athletes and nonathletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 7(3), 186-197. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.7.3.186
Donti, A., Maraki, M., Psychountaki, M., & Donti, Ο. (2025). Eating disorder symptoms and energy deficiency awareness in adolescent artistic gymnasts: evidence of a knowledge gap. Nutrients, 17(10), 1699. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17101699
Ghoch, M., Soave, F., Calugi, S., & Grave, R. (2013). Eating disorders, physical fitness and sport performance: a systematic review. Nutrients, 5(12), 5140-5160. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu5125140
Jiang, S. and Ramôa, C. (2022). The prevalence of eating disorders in female aesthetic athletes. Journal of Student Research, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v11i1.2387
Martinsen, M., Bratland‐Sanda, S., Eriksson, A., & Sundgot‐Borgen, J. (2009). Dieting to win or to be thin? a study of dieting and disordered eating among adolescent elite athletes and non-athlete controls. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(1), 70-76. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2009.068668
Mikulska, J., Lewandowski, M., Kurkiewicz, W., Woźniak, O., Wąsik, J., Gryboś, K., & Kwiatkowska, Z. (2025). Eating disorders among athletes: causes, symptoms, and health consequences. Quality in Sport, 41, 60061. https://doi.org/10.12775/qs.2025.41.60061
Stoyel, H., Slee, A., Meyer, C., & Serpell, L. (2019). Systematic review of risk factors for eating psychopathology in athletes: a critique of an etiological model. European Eating Disorders Review, 28(1), 3-25. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.2711
