#547: The Dark Side of Healthy Eating, Understanding Orthorexia and Social Media’s Role in Disordered Eating with Sports Dietitian Renee McGregor (Part 2)

2025-07-28

Renee McGregor is a leading Sports and Eating disorder specialist dietitian with 20 years’ experience working in clinical and performance nutrition, with Olympic (London, 2012), Paralympic (Rio, 2016) and Commonwealth (Queensland, 2018) teams. She specializes in REDS Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, eating disorders and hormonal health for female athletes. Renee is also a best-selling author, and her most recent book, More Fuel Thought is available now. She also writes a monthly column for runner’s world. She ...

She specializes in REDS Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, eating disorders and hormonal health for female athletes.

Renee is also a best-selling author, and her most recent book, More Fuel Thought is available now. She also writes a monthly column for runner’s world.

She appeared on a very recent episode #538: Sports Dietitian Renee McGregor on Balancing Athlete Hormones, When Healthy Eating Goes Bad and REDS (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) and this is our part 2 talking about The Problem With Influencer Lifestyle Nutrition and Orthorexia: When Healthy Eating Goes Bad!

Here are some of the things we talked about in today’s show:

· Orthorexia is an obsession with eating correctly.

· Social media has significantly influenced eating habits.

· Healthy eating can lead to disordered eating patterns.

· Context matters in nutritional choices.

· People often feel guilty about eating certain foods.

· No single day of eating will drastically affect health.

· Food beliefs can paralyze decision-making.

· Fitness and health are more accessible than perceived. All eating disorders have a psychological element.

· Orthorexia can be a coping mechanism for deeper issues.

· Fitness culture often influences unhealthy eating habits.

· Not all nutritionists are qualified to give advice.