Thursday, 31 March 2016

Module 2: LITERATURE & RESEARCH / Effects of poor diet for a dancer

Effects of poor diet for a dancers
Ballet's emphasis on elasticity stems from aesthetics and practicality, long limb extensions and overhead lifts are essential to classical ballet. The typical image of a thin ballerina with long limbs, a short torso, narrow hips and a slender neck was popularised in part by famed choreographer George Balanchine in the 1950s.
Reportedly encouraging his dancers to pursue a very slim physique, Balanchine and others perpetuated an emphasis on extreme thinness in ballet. The pursuit of this body type has related some ballerinas with eating disorders. But ballet culture is changing and the Balanchine body’ is not the only figure on stage today.
‘While thin dancers are still in high demand, there is much more emphasis on being strong, lean and healthy versus achieving a certain number on the scale’, says Joy Bauer, dietician with New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. ‘In fact, dance companies now go out of their way to encourage their ballerinas to fuel up on menus filled with nutrient-packed food so they can perform at their best.
According to Guidelines for Professional Dance Companies on Healthy Nutrition, a report issued by Dance/USA, a national association for professional, suggests dance companies should discourage extreme thinness. ‘Dance is a visual art form and relative thinness is a functional requirement of artistic directors and choreographers’, states the report. ‘In no way, however, should we encourage the ultra-thin look that has become fashionable in recent decades.
Lacking proper nutrition guidance, some dancers turn to extreme calorie restriction, purging, laxative abuse or other disordered behaviour to maintain their dancing weight. Along with this issue is the fact that ballerinas typically don't burn as many calories during a workday as other professional athletes because of the stop-and-start nature of dance.
According to Leslie Bonci, dietician for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, a ballerina might expend about 200 to 250 calories per hour-long class. ‘Contrast that with one hour of running or soccer for comparison, which burns about 600 calories per hour’, says Bonci.
Some companies screen dancers and refer those who exhibit signs of disordered behaviour to the appropriate resources. Young apprentices selected into professional companies often complete a nutrition evaluation before their first pay period. In addition to recording a dancer's weight, the Task Force on Dancer Health recommends a broad approach for assessing a dancer's health, including measuring her percentage of body fat, bone mineral density and selected serum electrolytes, and conducting a physical that includes evaluating menstrual history. The female athlete triad of under-fuelling, poor bone mineral density and irregular menses is common in weight-specific sports such as dance. Ballerinas who experience frequent stress fractures, dizziness and fatigue may have poor nutrition.
Enter nutrition education, which is reforming some dancer’s unhealthy relationship with food. Results of a recent study called Body Mass Index, Nutritional Knowledge, and Eating Behaviors in Elite Student and Professional Ballet Dancers,published in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, suggest that dancers with disordered eating also display lower levels of nutritional knowledge. To help educate dancers, the Task Force on Dancer Health recommends that companies provide access to a nutrition specialist, preferably one who is part of the in-house team, and that companies facilitate cooking demonstrations and workshops on healthy food preparation.
‘In the past there was much less food around [the studio]. The mentality was dancers were there to dance, not to eat, says Bonci.

‘Now [some studios] provide Pilates equipment, treadmills, bikes, weights, a lounge area to eat and refrigerators to keep food. Dietitians are teaching dancers that food is fuel and a friend rather than an enemy, and dancers are seeing the effects of eating right in that it could prolong [their] careers.
‘It's a balancing act for the dancers to get enough fuel to perform at their best, without eating so much volume that they feel bloated and heavy, says Bauer.
‘It takes some trial and error, but once they figure out what works for their individual body, the dancer knows exactly what, how much and when to snack.

Sports Nutrition Strategies for Ballet

The following are some strategies that sports dieticians use to help dancers maintain strong, healthful bodies.
1.      Maintain Energy Balance
Some companies have invested in equipment and provide scheduled breaks during which dancers can work out, expending additional calories without resorting to strict dieting for weight management. Male dancers who build more muscle mass also are able to lift ballerinas with higher body weights.
2.      Plan Meals Strategically
A typical work day for a ballerina is about eight to 10 hours, six days a week. Dancers will have morning warm ups and technique classes, and afternoon rehearsals or performances. The long hours and scheduling can lead to irregular meal patterns. Spacing small meals out during the day gives dancers a consistent supply of energy, which delays muscular fatigue and prevents dips in focus.
3.      Promote Brain-Boosting Foods
Dance requires strong concentration and accuracy, and improper fueling negatively affects brain function. Athletes should boost their intake of fatty fishes and plant foods high in omega-3 fatty acids to improve focus, mental clarity and sleep quality.
4.      Emphasize Fluid Intake
Hydration can be tricky on performance days because drinking too much liquid leads to frequent bathroom breaks and puffiness in costume. Hydrating two to three hours before a performance gives the fluid time to clear the kidneys before show time.


5 comments:

  1. I found this post really interesting to read, particularly the section about increasing nutritional education and the study published in the 'clinical journal of sports medicine.' I think education is essential but do you think the more educated we become the more we open our eyes to different negatives? For example, 'clean eating' and 'orthorexia' have become major talking points in the media. People are learning what is 'healthy' and 'nutritional' but in turn focus only on these foods. The more intelligent we become in regards to food science, the more things are proven to 'prevent' illness in some way or 'cause' them. Fish for example is encouraged for its healthy oils but is also said to be extremely high in contaminants. Like with food, do you think there's a balance between being aware and knowing too much? I think, like in life, it is importance to stress the idea of balance in regards to food and our exposure to education & media topics.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Megan,

    Thankyou so much for your message! I believe that within modern day the media and web is full of blogs/article/links/videos/interviews regarding healthy eating, superfoods and nutrition, it concerns me as allot of sources online are biased or incorrect information. I have created a new blog regarding Otherexia and how the media can effect the risks of eating disorder within the Performing Arts Industry. Reading about this disorder has made me realise that I had suffered from this within college due to false information regarding nutrition and wellbeing!

    I do believe that knowing to much can be lethal depending on what type of a person you are. For example when I read a source regarding food within my first year I would obsess over it and brainwash myself into relying on that specific source.

    I would love to here your view on my blog regarding Orthorexia and the impact it has within our Industry!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Bethany! I've just read your blog post. 'Depending what type of person your are' I think is key here. Some people may literally need telling what to eat and to be cooked for, whereas others, as you say, could take this as gospel and go too far the other way. It would be interesting to see if you could compare people's personalities against the amount of nutritional education they need individually for optimum response and benefits. I have followed various 'clean eating' blogs and 'healthy recipes'. For example, I love syrup/honey on pancakes or porridge or whatever. I read that agave nectar was a great 'natural' substitute, saw it all over the media and used it most days. I then read it has more sugar content than what honey does? There are so many contradicting articles and depending on what type of person you are depends on how much you need to be educated. 'Everything in moderation' as they say 👌🏻

    ReplyDelete
  4. P.s. I'm sorry to hear about your suffering with orthorexia. I'm aware it can be a very isolating and anxiety filled disorder. Hope things are better now! X

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Megan,

    This statement is so important, within my training various students would always brush off comments from teachers regarding their weight, look, eating habits and diet! However on the opposite end of the spectrum there were cases of anorexia as some students took every criticism to the extreme. That is such an interesting point to explore as it could prove that every Performer has a different impact from certain food types or diet.

    For example, one student, who has just finished an intense dance class, will happily go out for a meal and treat them selves, feeling guilt free as they have participated within the dance class.

    On the other hand, even though they have done high impact exercise, another student may feel that by treating them selves and having food they would enjoy eating, they would rather stick to eating what they would regularly eat. This prevents them from feeling the extreme guilt from over-indulging and eating 'risky' foods.

    Many graduates and performers have now created fitness blogs and are sponsored by fitness companies such as Muscle Food and Protein World. They always post their diet plans and the 'fat free' syrups are always a frequent product used within their breakfast. I have always wondered how a syrup would be healthy?! By saying that its 'fat free' we then think its amazing, however we never pay attention to the sugar content which in some products are extremely high!

    The media and web is ridiculously over crowded and its so hard to differentiate an opinion from a FACT!

    Thankyou Megan, I am much better now but I Know I am gradually progressing. To be honest at the time I wasn't aware that I had an eating disorder, I just thought that I was extremely fussy. From exploring this topic it has made me aware that I had suffered from ortherexia and the 'Over-excersizing' version of Bulimia (not the sicky one!) within my training and know one had identified it!

    If you do have any spare time I would love to hear your opinion with regards to a questionnaire I have created which can be found on my blog!x

    ReplyDelete