Healthy eating, exercise, and adequate rest are an important combination for the performance of an athlete. Good nutrition plays a vital role in living a healthy lifestyle. Eating the right portion of foods as well as staying hydrated is a winning formula for all athletes. Food provides the body with energy, protein, essential fats, and vitamins and minerals to live, grow and function properly. Athletes are constantly training on the practice field and in the weight room so it is important that they have the proper nutrients so that their bodies are able to recover from the demand that training puts on them. Combing healthy eating with physical activity allows for athletes to maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. …show more content…
In particular, to eating, athletes sometimes develop eating disorders. The two most popular of eating disorders include bulimia and anorexia. Bulimia is an episodic eating pattern of uncontrollable food bingeing followed by purging. It is characterized by an awareness that the pattern is abnormal, fear of being enable to stop eating voluntarily, and depressed mood and self-depreciation. Anorexia a psychological disease characterized by an intense fear of becoming obese, a disturbed body image, significant weight loss, and the refusal to maintain normal body weight. There are also other eating disorders such as vigorexia, binge eating disorder, and anorexia athletica. Approximately 3% of women will be affected by an eating disorder during their lifetime. Eating disorders affect girls and women more than boys and men. Biological and and personal factors as well as society’s promotion of the thin body image contribute to this notion. Eating disorders carry with them a high risk of other mental and physical illnesses that can lead to