With the intention to encourage better sports performance, the culture of bullying and fat-shaming Britains leading female athletes has risen dramatically over the last few years. Quite frankly, some coaches have addressed the weight of sportswomen and paid lip service to the body image phenomenon.
A number of female athletes told The Daily Telegraph about the type of pressure they have been put under to lose weight, with many referring to the alleged conduct of Britains most senior coach, Charles van Commenee, during the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics.
This surfaced after 23-year-old Mary Cain, an American middle-distance runner and former teenage prodigy, claimed last week that she was abused by Alberto Salazars coaching methods, which allegedly caused her to stop menstruating for three years and break five bones due to osteoporosis.
There are long term and sometimes irreversible consequences to pushing your body too far. But when sportswomen are told that the reason for a bad performance is because they are overweight, how are they to respond? We spoke to sports experts aboutthis change in direction and where the line should be drawn.
At elite level endurance sports,manyathletes will carefully monitor their nutrition and their weight in order to optimise their performance at specific times of the year,because it can be compromised says lecturer in psychology within the context of sport, exercise and health Dr Carolyn Plateau.
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'Putting someone on a scale every week doesnt always tell a coach much if your metabolic rate slows down' - The Telegraph
