Disordered Eating Among Health & Fitness Professionals

Health professionals like doctors, dietitians, nutritionists and nurses, as well as fitness professionals are often expected to be the embodiment of health. So when someone in one of these roles struggles with food, body image or eating behaviours, it can feel deeply shameful. 

But disordered eating is common among health and fitness professionals. This article will explore the research related to this, why risk may be elevated in these fields, and what to do if this resonates with you.

What is Disordered Eating?

Our relationship with food exists on a spectrum. On one end are clinically diagnosed eating disorders such as Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa, Binge eating disorder and ARFID. On the other end sits a flexible, peaceful and attuned relationship with food.

Disordered eating sits between eating disorders and a healthy relationship with food. This is a broad term that describes thoughts and behaviours around food that may not meet full diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder, but still significantly impact physical and mental wellbeing..

Disordered eating often involves:

• Restricting food intake
• Ignoring hunger or fullness cues
• Cutting out entire food groups without medical reason
• Labelling foods as “good” or “bad”
• Obsessive tracking or body checking
• Fasting or regularly skipping meals
• Binge eating
• Self-induced vomiting
• Using exercise to “earn” or “burn off” food
• Strict food rules and food fears
• Using diet pills or appetite suppressants
• Feeling intense guilt or anxiety when a meal doesn’t go to plan
• Having an identity strongly tied to “clean eating”, “optimisation” or being “the healthy one”

The fact that many of these behaviours are normalised, and even praised, in certain health and fitness spaces can make them harder to recognise as problematic.

What Does the Research Say?

Studies have found that health, fitness and nutrition professionals have a higher risk of disordered eating than the general public. 

More specifically, studies have found elevated rates of eating disorder risk and disordered eating behaviours in:

• Dietitians
• Nutritionists
• Doctors
• Nurses
• Nutrition, dietetic, nursing and medical students
• Fitness professionals like PTs and yoga instructors

For example, a US study of 2,500 Dietitians from 2017 found that 49.5% were at risk of orthorexia nervosa; which is an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating (1).

This study also found that 12.9% were at risk of an Eating disorder, roughly double the eating disorder risk that’s found in the general population when using similar screening measures. 

Research among nutrition and dietetic students has found (2):

• 4–32% to be at high risk of eating disorders
• 23–89% meet the criteria for orthorexic tendencies
• 37–86% reported body image concerns

A 2018 systematic review estimated eating disorder risk among medical students at 10.4% (3). For comparison, UK figures show that 6.4% of adults displayed signs of an eating disorder (4). 

Similarly, a recent study found that nursing students had a 2.37 times higher risk of eating disorder behaviours than peers on a non-health related course (5).  

Studies have also found that fitness professionals have high rates of disordered eating, particularly personal trainers (6). 

It’s important to note that much of this research relies on screening tools rather than confirmed diagnoses. However, the findings are concerning and consistent enough to warrant serious attention.

Why Might Health Professionals Be at Higher Risk?

There isn’t one single cause, but several overlapping factors likely contribute to why health and fitness professionals seem to have a higher risk of disordered eating.

Perfectionism

Healthcare professionals are often conscientious, high-achievers who can be prone to perfectionism. These traits are common for those who suffer with disordered eating as they can contribute to a rigid way of viewing health and nutrition. For example, perfectionism can make anything less than “optimal nutrition” feel like failure.

Interest in Health

Those who have chosen to study and dedicate their career to health, nutrition or fitness are already more likely to be more health conscious and body-focused. This can include those with an unhealthy fixation on health, or those vulnerable to this; especially as most people start to choose their career path as a teenager where food and body image issues can be at their worst.

This also means that those who are already at a higher risk of disordered eating will be spending time and bonding with others in a similar position to them at university and in their teams at work when they graduate. 

Immersion in Health

Years spent studying health and disease risk can further contribute to health anxiety, food fears and body image issues. Without reflection and perspective, awareness can become hypervigilance for some where food may begin to feel less like nourishment and more like a set of risks to manage.

Despite some progress, weight-centric approaches still dominate many healthcare settings. Weight loss is often praised without context, and body size is frequently used as a proxy for health. Exposure to this environment and the unspoken diet culture and fatphobia can further exacerbate disordered eating tendencies. 

All of this can create an environment where rigid behaviours are normalised, or even applauded.

Identity as “The Healthy One”

There can be pressure for health and fitness professionals to “look healthy”, eat “perfectly” and maintain control. In some fitness spaces, the idea that your body is your “business card” is actively encouraged. 

When your identity, income and professional credibility feel entangled with your health or appearance, the pressure to optimise can become intense. Sadly this can be a path towards an unhealthy obsession with health which actually does more harm than good. 

Knowledge as a Shield

Expertise can sometimes act as a mask. Clinical jargon can be used to justify restriction, for example “I’m afraid of carbs” may be positioned as “I’m managing my glycemic load” or a restrictive diet may be framed as a cutting-edge protocol. 

Others can also be less likely to notice disordered eating in health professionals as the assumption is that they have it all figured out and their knowledge will protect them from this. When, as discussed above, the opposite can be true in many cases. 

Stress & Mental Health

Health professionals experience high levels of work-related stress, burnout, anxiety and depression.

Disordered eating is often intertwined with mental health difficulties. Food can also become a key coping mechanism for stress and mental health issues; whether this is restriction as a way of feeling in control or binge eating as a way to distract and self-soothe. 

Red Flags to Look Out For

Whether you are a health, fitness or nutrition professional yourself, or you’re receiving support from one or following some on social media, it can be helpful to be aware of potential warning signs of a disordered relationship with food.

These may include:

• Moral language (“clean”, “toxic”, “naughty”, “good” or “bad”)
• Fear-based messaging about specific foods or ingredients
• Rigid beliefs and choices about food
• Avoidance of eating in front of others
• Skipping meals regularly despite advising otherwise
• Body image issues and anxiety around weight fluctuations
• Over-identification of professional worth with body shape or size
• Avoiding social events due to food anxiety
• Physical symptoms such as hair loss, fatigue, digestive issues or loss of menstrual cycle

If you discuss relationships with food with clients and find yourself giving food freedom advice that you would never actually allow yourself, that’s another red flag to be aware of.

None of these automatically indicate an eating disorder. But they can signal that someone’s relationship with food is under strain.

Self-awareness makes such a difference; especially in professions where our personal relationship with food can subtly influence how we practise.

If You’re a Nutrition or Health Professional Struggling

First of all, please know that you’re not alone, this isn’t your fault and struggling does not make you incompetent. As discussed above there are many valid reasons that have increased your risk of disordered eating. 

Eating disorders and disordered eating are not failures of knowledge. They are complex mental health conditions influenced by biological, psychological and social factors.

Seeking support is not a professional weakness, it’s a sign of awareness and being proactive.

Support might include:

• Speaking to your GP.
• Getting support from disordered eating specialist dietitians and/or therapist — it’s generally better, safer and more efficient to get support from other professionals rather than trying to resolve it by yourself.
• Discussing this in clinical supervision.
• Connecting with peers who value weight-inclusive, compassionate care.

If you feel ashamed or embarrassed about seeking support, ask yourself what you would say to a colleague who confided in you about the same struggle? Chances are, you would respond with empathy and praise their awareness and bravery in deciding to take action and get support. 

Addressing your own relationship with food can also strengthen your practice in many ways, including: deepening empathy, improving boundaries and increasing awareness of food and body image issues.

Don’t forget: you deserve just as much support and compassion as you give to your clients and patients.

A Call to the Industry

The uncomfortable truth is that disordered eating in our field is a symptom of a larger, systemic problem. We live in a weight and diet-obsessed culture that has deep roots in health, nutrition and fitness education.

If we want to create truly safe and supportive spaces for our patients and clients, we must also support students and professionals with their own relationship with food and overall wellbeing.

That means:

• Integrating eating disorder awareness into university curriculums and healthcare settings
• Challenging weight-centric care and diet culture norms within the health and fitness industry
• Having honest, compassionate conversations about this e.g. online, in meetings and in clinical supervision sessions
• Reduced weight stigma and diet culture in the workplace (and in healthcare more broadly)
• Embedding reflective practice and supervision as standard
• Improving access to mental health support for professionals

We don’t need “perfect” health professionals, we need self-aware, supported, reflective ones.

Because when professionals heal their own relationship with food, the care they provide becomes safer, more ethical and more compassionate.

Summary

Research suggests that the risk of disordered eating is high for health, fitness and nutrition professionals. Contributing factors include perfectionism, professional identity, immersion in food and weight discourse, and broader cultural pressures.

The solution is not shame or silence. It is systemic change, better education, supportive workplace cultures, and individual professionals seeking help when needed.

If you are struggling, please reach out for support as soon as possible. You deserve it just as much as your clients do, and caring for yourself will only strengthen your ability to care for others.

And if you’re interested in support from Disordered Eating Specialist Dietitians who have unpacked and healed their own relationships with food, then don’t hesitate to set up a free discovery call with our team. 

References:

1. Tremelling, K., Sandon, L., Vega, G. L., & McAdams, C. J. (2017). Orthorexia nervosa and eating disorder symptoms in registered dietitian nutritionists in the United States. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 117(10), 1612-1617. [accessed February 2026 via: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28624376/]
2. Budhiwianto, S., Bennett, C. J., Bristow, C. A., & Dart, J. (2023). Global prevalence of eating disorders in nutrition and dietetic university students: a systematic scoping review. Nutrients, 15(10), 2317. [accessed February 2026 via: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10221384/]
3. Jahrami, H., Sater, M., Abdulla, A., Faris, M. E. A. I., & AlAnsari, A. (2019). Eating disorders risk among medical students: a global systematic review and meta-analysis. Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 24(3), 397-410. [accessed February 2026 via: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40519-018-0516-z]
4. Beat Eating Disorders Website “Statistics For Journalists” [accessed February 2026 via: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/media-centre/eating-disorder-statistics/]
5. Cano-Estrada, E. A., Guerrero-Solano, J. A., Rodríguez-Moreno, R., López-Nolasco, B., Mendoza-Mojica, S. A., Razo-Blanco-Hernández, D. M., … & Hernández-Mariano, J. Á. (2025). Association Between Nursing Education and Risk of Eating Behavior Disorders Among Undergraduate Students. Nursing Reports, 15(12), 433. [accessed February 2026 via: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12735860/]
6. Carroll, M., Newman, E., Cradock, K., Bruha, L., & Sharpe, H. (2025). A systematic review of the prevalence of disordered eating in fitness professionals. Eating Behaviors, 102045. [accessed February 2026 via: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41161152/]