192: Nutrition for Ballet Dancers: Challenges & Opportunities – Dr. Nasira Burkholder-Cooley

Good nutrition is essential for dancers to achieve desired body composition, ensure adequate energy to support growth, and optimize training. Successful dancers learn to view food as fuel, avoid dieting, and have sustained energy to power through class and performance. Dancers tend to under-eat and neglect long-term health, which compromises performance and contributes to injury. Pursuing a successful dance profession should not inflict chronic pain, perpetual stress, or diet confusion. Quality nutrition improves every aspect of dance training and performance, including physical strength and endurance, balance, flexibility, mental clarity and memory, emotional stability, and self-confidence. Nutrition needs are very individualized, so it is important that dancers seek specific dietary advice from a Registered Dietitian for dancers regarding calorie and protein needs. Tune in to this episode to learn about: the unique nutritional needs of dancers and other performance athletes guidelines on macronutrients, micronutrients, hydration and snacks the realities of restricting intake during growth and puberty tips for fueling for performance as well as nutrition needs during injury recovery the importance of focusing on gaining strength and skill rather than focusing on body composition or ideal body weight insight into mental health, emotional eating, disordered eating and eating disorders how parents and teachers can be more involved and aware of red flags for disordered eating and body image issues Nasira's story from ballerina to dietitian Melissa's story attending a performing arts high school Full shownotes and resources at: www.SoundBitesRD.com/192