Helena has a degree in Nutrition Sciences from the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Porto, member of the Portuguese Order of Nutritionists (3882N) and part of the Commission of Young Nutritionists of this institution. She is also an executive member of the Global Innovation Panel and Academic Panel of the NNEdPro Global Center for Nutrition and Health, Cambridge UK. Recently Helena became a Master in Consumer Sciences and Nutrition at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto and at the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto.

Rita is a Portuguese Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist and UK SENr (Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register)Practitioner.
She has a bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Porto and a master’s degree in Sport Nutrition from Liverpool John Moores University.
During her masters in 2018/2019, Rita collaborated as the Performance Nutritionist for the Liverpool Football Club Women and has since consulted in clinical and sports nutrition for multiple clinics, clubs and individuals. Additionally, she has delivered talks as an invited speaker in nutrition conferences and professional education courses, currently collaborating as a lecturer at Academia Clínica do Dragão.

On this episode:

• Prevalence of eating disorders in athletes
• RED-S and low energy availability in athletes
• Struggling with eating disorders during the COVID-19 quarantine
• “Red Flags” to look out for and how to monitor RED-S
• The case of Mary Cain
• RED-S in cycling and injury risk
• Dietary periodization and eating disorders
• The role of social media
• Future directions
  

Articles mentioned during the episode:

Mountjoy, M., Sundgot-Borgen, J., Burke, L., Carter, S., Constantini, N., Lebrun, C., … & Ljungqvist, A. (2014). The IOC consensus statement: beyond the female athlete triad—Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). Br J Sports Med, 48(7), 491-497.

Burke, L. M., Close, G. L., Lundy, B., Mooses, M., Morton, J. P., & Tenforde, A. S. (2018). Relative energy deficiency in sport in male athletes: A commentary on its presentation among selected groups of male athletes. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 28(4), 364-374.

Ackerman, K. E., Stellingwerff, T., Elliott-Sale, K. J., Baltzell, A., Cain, M., Goucher, K., … & Mountjoy, M. L. (2020). #REDS (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport): time for a revolution in sports culture and systems to improve athlete health and performance.

Areta, J. L. (2020). Case study: Resumption of eumenorrhea in parallel with high training load after 4 years of menstrual dysfunction: a 5-year follow-up of an elite female cyclist. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 1(aop), 1-6.