Many adolescent athletes are potentially at risk for inadequate nutritional intake and abnormal eating patterns because of their desire to manipulate body weight for enhancing performance and their vulnerability to food fads and fallacies. Based on reported studies, adolescent athletes, especially females, consume inadequate diets, score low on nutrition knowledge tests, and/or hold misperceptions about general nutrition, especially practices recommended for adolescent athletes. Nonathletic female adolescents who are very preoccupied with body size and shape are also at risk for developing disordered eating patterns. This article presents methods used by female adolescents to attain society's ideal thin female physique and discusses the potential risks to normal growth and development. Ways are suggested that professionals working with adolescents may use to hopefully reduce the risk factors of inadequate nutrition and the development of disordered eating patterns.
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