Promoting Positive Messages around Food, Weight and Shape in your Training Environment

Good food and nutrition are essential to sporting success. However, sometimes coaches and other physical activity and sports professionals find these topics difficult to talk about.

Often coaches can be concerned about exacerbating any potential eating problems in their participants or feel that the topic is best left to nutrition and dietetics professionals. However, avoiding the topic altogether can make it difficult for participants to express any concerns they have about their eating habits, and may make identifying and supporting individuals with eating problems more challenging for coaches and the wider coaching team. 

Indeed, creating a positive training environment is important for helping to foster positive physical and psychological well-being in participants, and can help to prevent eating problems.  

Whilst specific nutritional requirements and advice for participants should come from qualified professionals, there are still practices that coaches and the wider coaching team can aim to instil in their coaching practice and training environments to promote positive relationships with food and fuelling among their participants.