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. 2021 Jun 24;9:73. doi: 10.1186/s40337-021-00427-3

Table 5.

The factors that influence the food-body relationship in athletes through COVID-19 and in more generalised athletic transitions

COVID-19 Specific Transitions Generalised Athletic Transitions

▪ Changes to physical environment

▪ Increased comparison through social media

▪ Changes to food security; including panic buying and fluctuating food access

▪ Boredom eating

▪ Reduced access to physical activity; including access to facilities or time allowed outside due to lockdowns

▪ Increased body preoccupation

▪ Attempts to control food as a surrogate to control life changes

▪ Changes to appetite

▪ Reduced training and physical exercise

▪ Routine and lifestyle changes

▪ Body composition changes; including changes to muscle mass and fat percentage

▪ Altered mental health state; including a change to identify and self-perception

▪ Loss of motivation or direction