More than fuel: Why athletes need better language around food

"Food is fuel" is a widely used phrase in sport settings intended to emphasize the importance of nutrition for performance. While nutrition is essential for health and success, this framing may unintentionally reinforce a narrow, performance-oriented understanding of eating that has implications for athletes' relationships with food and their bodies. Athletes are at heightened risk for eating concerns, low energy availability, and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), and aspects of sport culture may contribute to rigid, rule-based approaches to eating. This commentary argues that "food is fuel" language reflects and reinforced broader sports norms centered around optimization, control, and performance. Potential consequences include reduced attunement to internal cues and the moralization of food choices, particularly in sport environments where appearance and performance are closely intertwined. Language is proposed as a modifiable factor for prevention and more flexible, athlete-centered approaches to discussing food and eating are identified. Rather than dismissing the importance of nutrition in athletics, this commentary advocates for broader conceptualizations of eating that acknowledge its physical, psychological, social, and cultural functions and support athletes in developing sustainable relationships with food throughout and beyond their athletic careers.