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Nutrition for aesthetic and technical sports

Specialist online nutrition support for adults in judged, technical sports, from gymnastics and dance to skating, diving and artistic swimming, focused on fuelling, health and RED-S prevention.

At a glance

  • Shared demand: Power, precision and long technical training
  • Key risk: Low energy availability and RED-S
  • Our approach: No weight or body-fat targets
  • Specialists: RED-S and eating disorder nutrition specialists


What aesthetic sports have in common

Aesthetic and technical sports are judged on skill, artistry and execution. Gymnastics, dance, figure skating, diving, artistic swimming, cheerleading and trampolining all combine brief, explosive efforts with long hours of technical repetition, flexibility and conditioning. Power relative to body size matters, so athletes often face pressure about weight and shape. Training volume is frequently underestimated because competition routines look short, which makes under-fuelling common and easy to overlook.

The IOC consensus statement on REDs identifies aesthetic sports as carrying a higher risk of low energy availability, with consequences for bone health, menstrual function, immunity, mood, injury and performance. Disordered eating is also more common where appearance is judged. That is why our work in these sports never includes target weights or body-fat percentages, and why our RED-S and eating disorder nutrition specialists work closely together.

The sports also differ. Artistic swimmers spend long hours in the pool with breath-hold work; skaters train on cold rinks, often early in the morning; divers perform brief dives with long waits in between; cheerleaders combine tumbling and stunting within a team; trampolinists rely on aerial power and control. We adapt fuelling to each sport's schedule, environment and competition format.


Nutrition priorities in aesthetic sports


Fuel the real training load

Hours of skill and conditioning work add up. Daily carbohydrate needs range from around 3–5 g/kg on light, skill-based days to 5–7 g/kg or more on longer, harder days. [1]


Protect energy availability

Eating enough to cover training is the foundation of health and performance. We screen for signs of REDs and involve medical colleagues where needed. [3]


Periods and bone health

Irregular or missing periods and recurrent stress fractures are warning signs, not normal features of training, and deserve proper assessment. [3]


Protein for strength and repair

Around 20–40 g of protein per serving every 3–4 hours supports repair from landings, lifts and conditioning. [2]


Eating around competition waits

Long gaps between warm-up and performance are typical. Small, familiar carbohydrate snacks and fluid keep energy up without leaving you feeling full.


Safe supplement use

Few athletes in these sports need many supplements. If one is appropriate, we choose batch-tested products such as Informed Sport to reduce contamination and anti-doping risk. [4]


Competition-day structure

  1. Day before: Regular meals with familiar carbohydrate foods and enough fluid. The day before competition is never the time to restrict.
  2. Pre-competition: A meal with 1–4 g/kg of carbohydrate 1–4 hours before warm-up, chosen so you feel light and comfortable for your discipline. [1]
  3. Between rounds or routines: Small, easily digested snacks and sips of fluid during waits, timed around your start order.
  4. After competing: Carbohydrate and around 0.3 g/kg of protein soon afterwards, especially before finals or a second competition day. [1]

General guidance from sports nutrition consensus statements. Your practitioner will tailor amounts to you.


Sports in this category


Gymnastics

Explosive routines and long skill sessions make fuelling, bone health and RED-S screening central.


Ballet and dance

Class, rehearsal and evening shows call for meals planned around unpredictable breaks and late finishes.


Figure skating

Early-morning ice and cold rinks make breakfast planning and fuelling for jumps and lifts priorities.


Diving

Brief, powerful dives with long waits need steady snacking, hydration and support for strength training.


Artistic swimming

Long pool sessions with breath-hold work create high energy needs that are often underestimated.


Cheerleading

Tumbling and stunting in a team mean fuelling bases and flyers individually, never comparing bodies.


Trampolining

Repeated aerial routines demand power and core strength, with fuelling planned for long training blocks.


What we help with

  • Under-fuelling relative to long training hours
  • Missing or irregular periods
  • Stress fractures and slow-healing injuries
  • Pressure on body shape from judging and costumes
  • Disordered eating or anxiety around food
  • Fuelling through long competition waits
  • Early-morning or late-evening training schedules


Ongoing support, not one-off sessions

We do not work with athletes on a one-off basis. Sports nutrition works best when it adapts to your training, so we recommend an initial consultation followed by at least three follow-ups.


Sports in this group


Who you could work with


Book your consultation

Book an initial consultation or book a free discovery call to talk it through first. All consultations are online.


Explore more

See all the sports we work with, our RED-S nutrition support, or meet the team.


Frequently asked questions


Why are aesthetic sports linked with RED-S?

Judging, revealing costumes and a focus on power relative to body size can all encourage athletes to eat less than their training requires. The IOC recognises aesthetic sports as higher risk for low energy availability. Over time this can affect bone health, periods, mood, injury risk and performance.


Will you give me a target weight for my sport?

No. We do not set target weights or body-fat percentages, and we do not support rapid weight loss or dehydration. We focus on adequate fuelling, strength, recovery and long-term health.


Who supports athletes with disordered eating?

Melissa Bosch, our Eating Disorder Nutrition Specialist, works with our RED-S specialist dietitians to support athletes with under-fuelling and disordered eating. Where needed, we work alongside psychologists, GPs and specialist services, as nutrition support does not replace medical or psychological care.


Are consultations online?

Yes. All our consultations are online, so you can fit appointments around training, rehearsals or competition travel wherever you are.


Can I have a single consultation?

We do not work with athletes in these sports on a one-off basis. Fuelling needs shift between heavy training blocks, competition season and recovery, and RED-S risk needs monitoring over time, so we recommend a minimum of three follow-up consultations after your initial consultation.


Do you support young gymnasts, dancers and skaters?

These pages are for adult athletes. Many athletes in these sports start young, and children and teenagers are supported through our paediatric team, with parents or carers involved as appropriate.


References

  1. Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2016;116(3):501–528.
  2. Jäger R, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:20.
  3. Mountjoy M, et al. 2023 International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs). Br J Sports Med. 2023;57(17):1073–1097.
  4. Maughan RJ, et al. IOC consensus statement: dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(7):439–455.
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