Southwest
Michigan
Eating
Disorders
The Tiger in the Jungle:
Identifying Eating Disorders
NEW WEBSITE URL!
V o l u m e
http://www.swmichiganeatingdisorders.org/
Ask the Expert:
Sources of Information and
Help
(Book links are to
Amazon.com)
Full Mouse, Empty
Mouse by Dina Zeckhousen, Ph.D.
Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse
Resch
I'm Like So Fat! Helping Your Teen Make
Healthy Choices About
Eating and Exercise in
a Weight Obsessed
World by Dianne Neumark-Sztainer
Analysis Paralysis (A
blog entry that looks at
a practical approach to
explaining the difference between a brain
controlled by ED and a
"normal" brain).
Planet Health (A site
offering lessons and
activities to help students learn how to
make healthy life
choices.
American Academy of
Pediatrics Policy Statement: Promotion of
healthy weight-control
practices in young
athletes, 2005. Can be
acessed ,
American College of
Sports Medicine Position Statement: Nutrition and athletic performance, 2009.
3 7
We are continuing our interview
with Dilip Patel MD, a member of
the Department of Pediatrics and
Adolescent Medicine at WMU’s
School of Medicine and a sports
medicine specialist.
What are your dietary
suggestions to the athlete?
“Caloric requirements
vary depending upon the
physical activity or sport.
In general, for most athletes the caloric requirement per day is 2000
kcal. Athletes should consume similar proportions
of nutrients as recommended for general population. Approximately
55% to 65% of the daily
energy (caloric) intake
should be from carbohydrates, 15% to 20%
should be from protein,
and 20% to 30% should
be from fat. The diet
should be well balanced,
consisting of foods from
all groups of the food
pyramid.
“Some athletes may find
it difficult to gain the desired weight despite an
appropriate training and
diet. For these athletes
some studies suggest
that an increase in the
proportion of dietary fat
may be considered, increasing up to 40% of to-
A p r i l
2 0 1 3
Dilip Patel, MD, Sports Medicine, WMED (Pt. 2)
tal caloric intake. Increased caloric intake
must always be combined
with appropriate strength
training. Gains in muscle
hypertrophy are best
achieved by a regimen of
multiple sets and high
repetitions, typically 3 sets
of 8-15 repetitions. “
What bearing does a
young person’s weight
have on your assessment?
“A person’s weight should
be viewed in the context
of personal, family, sociocultural and psychosocial
history. A focus on
healthy lifestyle and
physical and mental fitness is more important
than just the weight as a
number.
“It is not beneficial for
coaches or others involved to discuss weight
with athletes except for
athletes involved in sports
that require mandatory
weigh-ins. Many athletes
and coaches inappropriately focus on weight instead of overall fitness
and performance. Casual
remarks by a coach or
other adults may trigger
disordered eating habits
and obsession with body
© T. M.
weight in some vulnerable athletes. Athletes
should first discuss desire or need for weight
manipulation and methods with knowledgeable
professionals. Regardless of the need for
weight loss all athletes
must be strongly warned
against engaging in
harmful weight-loss practices. A wrestler can be
disadvantaged by wrestling at a weight significantly lower than natural
while his or her opponent
weighs in at his or her
natural weight and wrestles at that weight. Matside weigh-ins would prevent wrestlers from competing when they are
weak from dehydration
and prevent the temptation of dehydrating themselves to the degree that
is life threatening.”