You Train Hard. Recovery Can Help You Go Further.
Whether you are competing at a high level, playing for the love of the game, or navigating life after sports, the pressure to perform can impact your relationship with food, exercise, and body image.
The Renfrew Center provides eating disorder treatment for athletes at all levels of competition. Our approach considers the realities of being an athlete while helping you build the skills needed for lasting recovery and a fuller life beyond treatment.
When the Pressure Starts to Feel Like Too Much
Athletes are often recognized for their dedication and drive. But sometimes, the same qualities that contribute to success can make it difficult to recognize when healthy habits have become harmful.
Signs of eating disorders and disordered eating in athletes may include:
- Constantly thinking about food, weight, or body shape
- Restricting food to improve performance or appearance
- Exercising despite illness, injury, or exhaustion
- Experiencing anxiety when unable to train
- Tying your self-worth to athletic performance
- Feeling pressure to maintain a certain body size or weight
Eating disorders and disordered eating can affect athletes of all genders, body sizes, abilities, and level competition.
Why Athletes May Be at Risk
In sports, dedication and pushing your limits are often celebrated. That can make it difficult to recognize when behaviors around food, exercise or body image are becoming harmful.
The demands of training and competition can also create added pressure around performance and the body. What starts as an effort to improve, stay competitive or meet the expectations of a sport can sometimes develop into patterns that affect both physical and emotional health.
Recognizing when those patterns have become a problem can be an important first step toward getting the right support.
Eating Disorder Treatment for Athletes at Renfrew
Recovery is not about giving up the parts of your life that matter to you. It is about changing the patterns that may be getting in the way.
The Renfrew Center Unified Treatment Model for Eating Disorders® helps patients respond differently to difficult emotions rather than relying on eating disorder behaviors to manage them. For athletes, treatment considers the pressures of sport and helps build a healthier relationship with food, movement, and life beyond athletics.
Treatment is provided by a multidisciplinary team and tailored to each patient’s individual needs.
Find the Right Level of Support
The Renfrew Center offers a full continuum of eating disorder care, allowing treatment to adapt as needs change.
- Residential Treatment
- Day Treatment
- Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)
- Outpatient Services
- Virtual Treatment Options
With locations across the country and virtual treatment available, our team can help determine the level of care that is appropriate for you.
Related Resources
Eating Disorders in College Athletes: 10 Warning Signs & 10 Actionable Tips
Learn how to recognize common warning signs of eating disorders in college athletes and explore practical strategies for seeking help and supporting recovery.
Overexercise & Eating Disorders: Are They Related?
Explore the connection between exercise and eating disorders, including signs that movement may be negatively impacting your health, recovery, or overall well-being.
Podcast: The Athlete’s Dilemma: Recovery, Identity, and the Drive to Compete
Listen as Renfrew experts discuss the unique challenges athletes face around recovery, identity, and balancing the drive to compete with the need for healing.
10 Things Coaches & Trainers Can Do to Help Prevent Eating Disorders in Their Athletes
Discover practical ways coaches and trainers can foster a supportive environment, promote healthy habits, and help identify concerns early.
Wondering if Treatment Could Help?
If concerns about food, exercise, body image, or performance are taking up more of your life, talk with our team. An assessment can help you better understand what is happening and determine what level of support may be appropriate.
