The Problem In Pro Dance No One Is Talking About

As a two-time NFL cheerleader and a nutritionist whose clients are mostly current or aspiring NFL cheerleaders and NBA dancers, I have a lot of love for the industry. I think the pro dance world has many positive aspects and amazing opportunities to offer. 

But there is one big problem that is ubiquitous throughout the pro dance world. A problem that no one seems to even be aware of, let alone interested in fixing. And that is chronic undereating.

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What is undereating?

When I say undereating, I don’t mean occasionally skipping breakfast because you forgot to pack it, or missing lunch because work got busy. 

I’m talking about dancers consistently not meeting their energy (calorie) needs on a daily basis for months and months, if not years. 

Undereating in very simple terms is eating less calories than the body needs to maintain weight and fundamental physiological functions. 

Mild, short term undereating happens when someone is intentionally trying to lose weight, and typically doesn’t do much harm in the short term.

The problem arises when undereating becomes someone's norm, a way of life for them, for a long time. 

Undereating can show up in different ways, such as:

• Extreme calorie restriction for weight loss or weight management

• Eliminating specific food groups, such as carbs or fats, because of fears about those foods or fears of weight gain

• Obsession with “clean eating” and avoiding many foods that are considered “bad” or not clean

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Why do pro dancers specifically tend to undereat? 

Let’s just get the harsh reality out of the way: the body standard in the pro dance world is “lean and toned.” Most pro dancers are expected to be thin. To have a flat stomach, or sometimes even visible abs. To maintain their weight within a few pounds all season long (maybe they even have weigh-ins). And if they gain weight, they might not get their spot back on the team the following year.

And aspiring pros, in an audition setting, are not oblivious to the fact they’re being judged on how they look. We’ve all seen some of the best dancers in the room get cut in the first round–not because they couldn’t dance, but because they “didn’t have the body.” 

I don’t need to write a diatribe about how that expectation and constant pressure shapes a dancer’s relationship with food. I think it’s quite obvious. 

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The worst part is, most dancers have NO IDEA they’re undereating. Because thanks to society’s obsession with weight loss, and of course diet culture, it has become normalized.

People are afraid to eat more than 2 eggs at a time. To eat real butter. To put salad dressing on their salad. To eat a whole banana. To eat ice cream in a cone (gotta do a cup instead). 

People are afraid to eat anything after 8pm (because eating late at night is “bad”). Or to eat before 11am (because fasting is “good”). Or to eat a snack at 2pm because they “just had lunch” an hour ago, even though they’re legitimately hungry. 

We are CONSTANTLY receiving messages–on social media in particular–to eat less and less and less. Fear this food and that food. Follow this new food rule, and that rule too. If you don’t you’ll gain weight. And be unhealthy. And get ~*HoRmOnAl ImBaLaNcE*~

Dancers are paralyzed with fear about food and dramatically undereating. I know this because I see it all the time. I have seen it on nearly every single new client food journal I’ve reviewed in the past year and a half.

This phenomenon of undereating is doing a huge disservice to dancers and harming the longevity of their dance career. 

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Is undereating really that big of a deal? What’s the worst that can happen? 

Beyond the fact that pro dancers have to maintain their weight all season long, they are also: 

• Practicing at least 10+ hours a week at a very high intensity level 

• Performing at games frequently during the season (the NBA schedule can be particularly grueling and tough on the body)

• Expected to workout several times a week in addition to practice and games

• Not sleeping enough because of the insane dance schedule, late night rehearsals/games, and waking up early for their other job(s)

The NFL and NBA seasons are long, stressful, and extremely hard on the body. Couple this with underfueling, and you have a recipe for injury, burnout, and serious health consequences. 

Maybe I’m biased because of my job, but I see undereating among dancers as one of the biggest drivers of health issues. 

Chronic dieting or eating low calorie for an extended period of time by nature means you’re consuming less macronutrients (protein, fat, carbs) and less micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). 

When we’re lacking in these, when we experience nutrient inadequacies or overt deficiencies, our body quite literally cannot function properly. 

Undereating is a huge stressor on the body, and many physiological systems and functions are impacted as a result.

Potential health consequences of chronic undereating:

• Poor digestion and stomach problems → This could be an entire blog post on it’s own. Undereating causes the digestive process to down regulate, often leading to chronic constipation, bloating, and difficulty digesting food

• Thyroid dysfunction → Calorie restriction, particularly of carbs, reduces conversion of inactive thyroid hormone T4 to active thyroid hormone T3; low thyroid hormone means things start to slow down, leading to symptoms like fatigue, constipation, feeling cold all the time, hair loss, and more

• Low energy and chronic fatigue → Food quite literally is converted into energy; if you are struggling with extreme fatigue despite sleeping enough, evaluate your diet and overall calorie intake

• Irregular or missing periods → Too few calories or too little of any macronutrient can lead to hypothalamic amenorrhea, because the brain basically decides there is not enough food/energy for reproduction

• Sleep issues → Undereating can lead to many sleep disturbances, including poor quality sleep, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, and night sweats

• Injuries and poor recovery → Adequate nutrition and energy intake is essential for the body to repair and recover from dance. Without enough calories and nutrients, the body’s ability to repair is compromised, and over time this can increase risk of injuries

• Weakened immune system → Chronic undereating suppresses the immune system, making the body more susceptible to illness and infection

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Signs you *might* not be eating enough:

• Insatiable hunger or excessive snacking, especially at night

• Low energy and extreme fatigue, despite getting enough sleep

• Difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep

• Low body temperature, being cold all the time

• Irregular or missed periods

• Mood swings, feeling irritable often, getting hangry easily

• Hair loss and brittle nails

• Frequent food cravings or constantly thinking about food

• Brain fog and difficulty concentrating

• Poor recovery or prone to injuries

• Frequent constipation, bloating, stomach pain

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So, what’s the solution to this problem? 

I see the solution to this problem of undereating in pro dance as two-fold:

1) Big picture, longer term, systemic change that needs to happen: Change the body standards to be less strict. Stop expecting pro dancers to be extremely thin. Be more inclusive of other body types and weights (shoutout to the teams already doing this!)  

2) In the meantime, because although we have made some progress, I think it will take a long time for the entire pro industry to change, we need to give dancers the nutrition resources they need to maintain the body standard imposed on them in a healthy, sustainable way. (No, I’m not talking about a gym membership…)

The pro dance industry needs to stop putting so much pressure on dancers to maintain a weight that is unrealistic and unhealthy for most adult women to maintain. This ultimately causes dancers to fear food, develop an unhealthy relationship with food and their bodies, and undereat (knowingly or not) for YEARS.