The Future Is Female

As the 2022 WNBA post-season unfolds, supporting the female athlete is front of mind. I had the opportunity to work as a consultant with the WNBA's New York Liberty this season and what an honor it was to collaborate with the staff and serve this incredible group. Women’s sports ya’ll… tune in!

According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, 40% of female teens do not participate in organized sports, compared to 25% of male teens. Read more here. With Title IX turning 50 this year, the gap continues to close but there are still less opportunities for females and there is less visibility. 3.2% of sports media coverage is devoted to women’s sports. To put that into perspective, that means roughly 97% of sports media coverage is devoted to male sports!

Instead of just repeating these stats and claiming them as unfair, let's raise the bar and encourage increased participation in sport and physical activity for all. Why? Because participation in sports and physical activity supports both physical health and mental wellbeing.

In order to perform at our best, we must fuel adequately and consistently. Today, adolescents and teens are subjected to a constant cycle of misinformation about their bodies, food, and "diet culture" through social media - and this does not change for athletes. This messaging puts young athletes at risk for under fueling, which can result in major short and long-term consequences.

Female athletes are at increased risk for:

• Pressure related to body composition and weight

• Disordered eating and eating disorders

• Low Energy Availability (LEA) and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)

• Loss of menstrual cycle

• Injury and decreased bone density

Prioritizing holistic well-being and body positive messaging can have a life-long impact on individual athletes and teams. Our focus at Fuel Forward is on educating athletes about nutrition, helping clients break down nutrition misinformation and customizing realistic fueling strategies. Along with this, we celebrate everything that participation in sport brings to the table: teamwork, confidence, communication skills, and leadership. Everybody wins when we are able to keep teens engaged and participating in extracurricular activities.

Here are just a few of our favorite resources to help guide female athletes:

• https://femaleandmaleathletetriad.org/

• Female athlete resources | Australian Institute of Sport (ais.gov.au)

• The Female Athlete: Energy and Nutrition Issues (gssiweb.org)

• You’re Not a Small Man, But You May Need to Eat Like One! (drstacysims.com)