Don’t think you have to look a certain way to be a sporting success’: Sport Ireland video fights body misconceptions

Athletes and coaches frequently have misconceptions about how an athlete should look in order to perform, but now a powerful new Sport Ireland Institute video aims to raise awareness about the importance of not comparing yourself to others. 

In the ‘Body Composition: More than a Number’ video Olympic boxer Gráinne Walsh, former Irish rugby union player Ciara Griffin, and former international cyclist Emily Kay reveal how body composition concerns affected them during their careers.  

Former Irish International rugby captain Ciara Griffin said: “When I first came into the Ireland team, you’d hear horror stories about getting your skin fold tests done in front of the team. I was absolutely petrified because I wasn’t confident in my shape or size. It took me a long time to realise it’sactually all about how you perform, not how you look.”

Aside from raising awareness, ‘Body Composition: More than a Number’ aims to empower athletes to appreciate what their body can do in their sport.

Gráinne Walsh, who fought at the Paris Olympics during the summer, said: “I want to raise awareness of this because I think it is so important that people speak out about these things and kids don’t think you have to look a certain way to be successful.” 

While different sports have differing physical requirements athletes often have a fixed view of what their body composition - the term used to describe the amounts of fat, bone, and muscle in human bodies - should look like. 

The video, supported by Sport Ireland Women in Sport funding, is one of a range of resources developed by the Sport Ireland Institute to help athletes and coaches make informed choices regarding their weight and body composition to allow them to perform to their full potential.  

Sarah Jane Cullen, a sports physiologist who provides support to high-performance athletes and para-athletes in Ireland through the Sport Ireland Institute, said: “The intention is for these resources to be used by athletes, coaches, and sport science service providers at all levels. 

“They are an educational resource to be used to start discussions around weight, body composition, and how these things can affect your physical health, mental health, and your performance. Athletes need to appreciate what their bodies can do and that there is no one size fits all.” 

Emily Kay, a former Olympic track cyclist for Ireland, said: “Body composition is a really important topic for athletes and coaches to discuss, it's great that Sport Ireland are starting those discussions, and also providing supports and information for athletes and coaches.”

The Sport Ireland Institute, which delivers world-class support services to high-performance athletes, last year formed a working group to raise awareness of the complexities of body composition as a performance variable and to develop educational resources such as the ‘Body Composition: More than a Number’ video and a series of infographics.

The downloadable infographics were developed by the sport scientists and performance services teams in the Sport Ireland Institute worked together with the Sport and Exercise Nutrition Group BDA, Durham University in England, and the University of São Paulo, Brazil. These infographics are designed for use by athletes and coaches. 

The infographics focus on five key messages: 

1. Body composition and raising awareness. 

2. Communication relating to body composition. 

3. Refocusing away from body composition. 

4. The implications of focusing too much on body composition for female athletes. 

5. The implications of focusing too much on body composition for male athletes. 

Additional information

If you think you are focusing too much on your weight or body composition, it may be time to seek help from a health professional. BodyWHYS is the national support group for people with eating disorders. It can be contacted at 01-2107906 or alex@bodywhys.ie.

Nutritional Contacts

1. SENG - Sport & Exercise Nutrition Group of the Irish Nutrition & Dietetic Institute (INDI). Access to a list of registered performance nutritionists and sports dietitians in Ireland who are members of SENG. sportsandexercisenutritionindi@gmail.com

2. British Dietetic Association (BDA) Sports Nutrition Specialist Group

Access to a group of registered dietitians and nutritionists who work/have an interest in sport in the UK and Ireland.