Athlete Special Interest Group

The Athlete Special Interest Group (ASIG) is a multidisciplinary association of academic and health care professionals with demonstrated interest and expertise in the field of eating disorders. ASIG members believe that athletes constitute a unique population best served through specialized approaches to identification, treatment, and prevention of eating disorders. For our purposes, the term "athlete" is defined broadly to include persons for whom exercise, athletic activity, or performance through movement play a significant life role, as well as those individuals who participate in organized sport at all levels of competition. We intend to pursue our mission through the objectives below.

1. Promotion of effective treatment and care of athletes with eating disorders.
2. Exchange of information among SIG members and other professionals involved in the treatment and care of athletes with eating disorders.
3. Arrangement of forums (i.e., programs, workshops, conferences, etc.) to facilitate information exchange as described in objective 2.
4. Development and dissemination of educational materials regarding the identification, treatment, and prevention of eating disorders among athletes; these materials are relevant for health care professionals, sport personnel, athletes, parents, and the general public.
5. Encouragement of, and support for, quality research in the area of athletes and eating disorders.

Past Activities and History
The Athlete SIG was formed in 2001. The first Athlete SIG meeting occurred on 5/19/01 at the AED conference in Vancouver. The meeting was co-chaired by Roberta Sherman, Ph.D., and Ron A. Thompson, Ph.D., and was attended by 17 of the 30 individuals who have requested SIG membership.

Because this was our first meeting, the business portion of the meeting included the following issues: the organization of the SIG, a SIG mission statement and suggestions for possible SIG activities.

These included a position paper on athletes and eating disorders, a survey of what is being done in the area of eating disorders in various countries and by various sport governing bodies, an international database of ongoing research, and plans for the year and for the Boston conference in 2002.

With respect to the latter, considerable interest was expressed regarding sport nutrition and how practitioners might use it more effectively. Related to this, it was suggested that we consider having a noted sport nutritionist (i.e., Nancy Clark) or SIG member dietitians provide the content for the 2002 SIG meeting. It was also proposed that we consider submitting a SIG program consisting of a panel of SIG members.

The content portion of the SIG meeting was provided by co-chair Ron Thompson who led a discussion on why athletes are at greater risk for eating disorders and how aspects of the athletic environment complicate identification of affected athletes. Currently, an amended SIG mission state is being presented to SIG members for their feedback and suggestions. Also, an information survey is being conducted by various SIG members to determine what is being done regarding identification, treatment and prevention of eating disorders among athletes in their respective areas.

This information will be shared with SIG members, as well as information regarding ongoing research with athletes. Information among SIG members will be shared via e-mail and will be coordinated by SIG co-chairs. Noted sport nutritionist Nancy Clark, R.D., has been contacted regarding her possible participation at the conference.

September 19, 2003: Athlete SIG one day conference “Athletes and Eating Disorders: Bridging the Gap” organized by SIG Co-chairs Roberta Trattner Sherman and Ron A. Thompson August 1, 2003: Female Athlete Triad Task Force: Roberta Trattner Sherman and Ron A. Thompson

Compilation of Athlete and ED Research: Donald McAlpine, MD, chair

Co-chairs Sherman and Thompson have also submitted contributions to the AED newsletter and offered a 1⁄2 day workshop at the 2003 AED Annual Meeting on Excessive Exercise.

Roberta Trattner Sherman will also be working on the Female Athlete Triad Position Paper for the Academy this year.

Annual Meeting of the Athletes SIG
Presentation: The research committee presented their recent project. They have completed a comprehensive review of the literature and have more than 500 citations of research on athletes and eating disorders. The committee was chaired by Donald McAlpine, MD. Other members of the committee were: Robyn Swenson, Mary Yannakaelia and Annick Bucholz. Further projects including writing review articles were discussed.

Business Meeting

• Survey of members to update membership and obtain ideas for future projects
• Announcement of Athlete SIG one-day conference “Athletes and Eating Disorders: Bridging the Gap”
• Suggestions for next year’s AED SIG meeting presentation
• General questions
• Sharing of members’ interests and activities related to athletes
• Report on Female Athlete Triad Task Force and Roberta’s involvement on that Task Force
• Report on Female Athlete Triad Position Paper

Resources

The Female Athlete Triad
369KB PDF

SIG Athletes Resource Bibliography

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