#123: Dr. Whitney Trotter on Body Identity as an Athlete, Disordered Eating in BIPOC, & the Impact of Intergenerational Trauma

Jul 1

Dr. Whitney Trotter (RD / RN) joins us in this revisited episode to talk about intersectionality, trauma-informed care, and how eating disorder treatment fails BIPOC communities (plus, of course, what needs to be done to improve access and approaches to care).

I am so excited for you to re-listen to this conversation with Whitney. Even if you listened to it when it was first released, I truly believe you will pick up on different elements of the discussion this time around, and I hope you find it as helpful as I do to give it another listen. If you didn’t catch it the first time, this is one you truly do not want to miss!

We get into Whitney’s experience as a Black college athlete, how college athletes are impacted by diet culture, and how "eating for performance" affects body image. We also get into the body grief that comes with transitioning out of athletics, why Whitney fell in love with nutrition, and then eating disorders, and what we need to know about eating disorders in BIPOC. Some of what we discuss? Underdiagnosis, lack of medical care, lack of resources and support, how universities and education systems play a role, socioeconomic barriers to treatment, discrimination, stigma, and lack of research.

Listen to hear more about…

The intersection of HIV and eating disorders
Weight-gain on medications and providing informed consent for harm-reduction
Racism in nutrition
Social Determinants of Health and eating disorders in BIPOC
The bio-psycho-social components of eating disorders
How we can make care and treatment more accessible Intergenerational trauma and the increased risk of disordered eating behaviors
Intergenerational trauma and the increased risk of disordered eating behaviors

Resources Mentioned:

About Whitney:

Whitney Trotter (she/her) is dually licensed as a Registered Dietitian, Nurse, and yoga instructor and is currently working on her doctorate degree to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Whitney has over ten years of experience working as a registered dietitian serving various communities such as the HIV/AIDS community and the eating disorder field. Whitney also previously worked at a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center as a Pediatric emergency room nurse. In addition to working as an RDN and RN, Whitney has served as a member of her county's Rape Crisis Center. Her work at the Rape Crisis Center equipped her to co-found an anti-trafficking organization Restore Corps, where she now provides medical training to the community focusing on human trafficking response. Whitney's career in the Eating Disorder field includes being a former Nutrition and Nursing director of a Residential, PHP, and IOP center. Whitney is also the owner/founder of Bluff City Health, a private practice that bridges the gap in the eating disorder field of equitable care and social justice. This past year Whitney created the first-ever BIPOC Eating Disorders Conference and started #bipoceatigndisordersawarenessweek.

Learn more about Whitney on Instagram and on her website.

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