Do dance professionals think about their health?

Dietary Habits, Attitudes and Perceptions of Pre and Professional Dancers

Derrick D Brown¹, Matthew Wyon^1,2

¹ Dance, ArtEZ Institute for the Arts, The Netherlands

² School of Sport, Performing Arts and Leisure, University Wolverhampton, United Kingdom

Abstract: Although it is recognised that ingesting quality macronutrients enhance dance training and performance, nutrition-related knowledge discrepancies and dietary inadequacies are still prevalent amongst student and elite dancers. For example in studies assessing female dancers, daily caloric intake has been reported from 41 to 623 kcal below the recommended value of 2,200 kcal/ day for women who are sedentary or participate only in light exercise. Moreover, the cause for dietary inadequacies is multi-factorial and can range from inadequate financial resources, to access to mainly inferior nutritional information. Guidelines in many countries encourage the consumption of key food items from broadly accepted food groups, including fruits and vegetables, adequate whole-grain products, lean protein and the consumption of adequate amounts of dairy and quality fats. It is not known if dancers are aware these food groups, or whether they adhere to these guidelines. Therefore the purpose of this international study was to measure dietary habits, attitudes and perceptions of student and professional dancers.

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