Fitness professionals are often in a unique position to identify clients who are at risk for serious eating disorders and to provide assistance in helping their clients develop healthier bodies as well as a healthier body image. Eating disorders are considered a mental health issue and carry with them serious risks, including death.

Red Flags to Be Aware Of:

·         Loss of periods — also known as athletic amenorrhea. When the body fat drops below a certain level, women’s estrogen levels drop which leads to decreased breast size and bone loss, among other signs.

·         Stress fractures — may be a sign of bone loss that accompanies athletic amenorrhea.

How to Discuss Your Concerns

As many of us have experienced, discussing weight with anyone with an eating disorder is counter-productive and should be avoided, if at all possible.

A better approach is to discuss your clients’ personal fitness goals and find ways to motivate them to be as healthy as possible to achieve those goals. For example, a trainer might be the best person to give objective feedback about how performance suffers when our muscles don’t get adequate protein to function at their best.

Likewise, asking about stress fractures in the client and in their teammates and friends helps steer the conversation to how fractures prevent people from reaching their goals.

In addition, discussing fluid intake is crucial, as many people with eating disorders become dehydrated or have electrolyte imbalance from purging or limiting their fluid intake.

Distorted Body Images

Providing objective feedback about body size, body fat percentage and body image issues is also helpful. If a client’s self-perception doesn’t match up with what you observe, it’s important to clarify the misconceptions.

Here’s a script that might be helpful (fill in the blanks, as needed):

Ø  I’m concerned when I see: _________________

Ø  I worry that you won’t be able to: _________________

Ø  I’d like to see you be able to: _________________

Ø  In order to help you reach your goals, we need to take a look at some things that might help you feel better and be healthier.

Ø  Are you worried about: _________________

Ø  It’s been my experience that when ______ happens, sometimes the person has an eating disorder. I’d feel better if you were evaluated by a health care provider.

What You Can Do

Many of my patients with eating disorders trust their trainers, listen to them and take their advice. I believe that the trust that’s developed also carries with it an obligation to assist that person in helping them not only achieve their fitness goals but also to help them become healthy.

Trainers can identify clients at risk, suggest resources in the community for evaluation and treatment and can work with their clients as they overcome this challenging and complicated mental health issue.

Discuss!

What have been your experiences in dealing with eating disorders among clients and colleagues? Are you qualified to work with clients who have eating disorders?

For more information, visit the Mayo Clinic’s website on eating disorders, or read Barbara’s health information blog, Barb’s Daily Dose.