Coaches can positively or negatively influence athlete eating behaviors. The culture of “lean” sports, such as cross-country, normalizes hypervigilance around thinness, often to an unhealthy extreme. This study aims to understand the social processes through which coaches communicate positive and negative body-related attitudes to their athletes and how athletes interpret these messages through eating habits and exercise patterns. Amanda will examine this issue through in-person interviews with women’s cross country coaches at NCAA Division I universities, and surveys and interviews of runners in these programs.

Advisors: Alison Field (School of Public Health) and Anne Rothenberg (Ronald McDonald House Running Club)