A Dundee Olympian is set to take a run at conquering body image issues in young girls.
Eilish McColgan, a 5,000 metre finalist at this year’s Rio Olympics, spoke of her concerns surrounding body image issues in youngsters.
Body image issues stem from people having an unrealistic view of themselves and it is seen most commonly in women.
Eilish plans on targeting schoolgirls in order to help them along the right track to a healthy lifestyle.
The 25-year-old was back in the city, from her current Doha location, to talk to aspiring city athletes at the High School of Dundee – taking the chance to educate them on a range of things including training methods and nutritional advice.
She said: “Being healthy isn’t about people starving themselves. A lot of girls think sportspeople must be starving themselves but that isn’t the case. We are probably eating much more than most people do — and we aren’t completely obsessed about what we eat.
“I really want to get it across to people — especially young girls — that looking fit isn’t about depriving yourself.
“Even young people who run like me, they think that the leaner you are the faster you will run, but you need to fuel yourself in the right way.
“That isn’t just about sports either — it’s about everything, including education.
“I want to be involved more in educating young girls in issues like body image — going around schools and speaking to them.”
Eilish is planning on launching a campaign which educates young girls on healthy choices next year and is considering exploring cooking classes or a more active based plan.
She said that she had a major wake up call while at school in the importance of good nutrition.
She added: “I was still doing a lot of my running but my diet basically consisted of fast food and microwaveable meals.
“Then I got a blood test and it came back that my iron levels were really low – it was a real wake up call.”
Eilish said that she now cooks all her meals from scratch and isn’t obsessed about what she is eating.
She added that cutting out processed food can make a big difference and that it is unnecessary for people to deprive themselves.
