Adaptive Eating Behaviors: The Missing Link Between Energy Balance and Performance

Caio Eduardo Gonçalves Reis¹Ragami Chaves Alves²Wilson Max Almeida Monteiro de Moraes^3*

• ¹Universidade de Brasilia, Brasília, Brazil
• ²Universidade Federal do Parana, Curitiba, Brazil
• ³Catholic University of Brasilia (UCB), Brasília, Brazil

energy intake and expenditure (diet and supplement intake with training load) to improve performance and recovery. The ability to adjust eating behavior in response to physiological and psychological demands presented an important challenge for athletes (1).Historically, the literature has focused on maladaptive responses, such as restrictive eating or disordered patterns, while neglecting to explore the adaptive spectrum of coping and regulation (2). Therefore, the Research Topic "Adaptive Eating Behaviors and Energy Intake -Coping Strategies and Their Impact on Health and Performance" was proposed to address the evidence gap in the field, emphasizing the importance of understanding how individuals manage their energy intake under high training loads and competitive schedules. The main objective was to provide a comprehensive perspective of adaptive eating behaviors and energy intake, encompassing both physiological and behavioral aspects, to highlight their relevance in clinical nutrition and sports performance.In this context, the article by Wachten et al. (2024) provided important insights for the topic, examining the interplay between orthorexia nervosa, exercise addiction, and well-being across different sports and genders (n = 1,064). The authors highlight that excessive health behaviors, while sometimes aimed at optimizing performance and health, can negatively impact psychological well-being, particularly among female athletes (3).They presented a nuanced perspective on how maladaptive eating and exercise patterns influence athletes' holistic health. Preventive measures should consider gender-specific risks in excessive health behaviors across fitness, resistance, and endurance sports. When taken collectively, these contributions underscore a paradigm shift in sports nutrition: moving from a predominant focus on energy deficiency and maladaptive behaviors toward understanding adaptive regulation as a continuum that optimizes performance and health. They emphasize that adaptive eating is not static, but dynamically shaped by the interaction of training load, recovery, motivation, and internal cues of hunger and satiety. This concept is gaining traction in the scientific literature. For instance, de Moraes et al. ( 2024) investigated adaptive responses in energy intake regulation using a refeed model among competitive bodybuilders, highlighting how planned fluctuations in dietary intake can serve as coping strategies to mitigate the physiological and psychological stress of prolonged caloric restriction (7). Their findings illustrate that adaptive eating is not only a compensatory reaction to energy deficits but also a deliberate strategic behavior aimed at restoring energy balance, supporting metabolic flexibility, and preserving performance during intensive training phases.The findings highlight that adaptive eating in athletes and physically active individuals is not solely a response to physiological cues but also reflects the ability to cope with psychological demands, manage self-perception, and adjust energy intake according to training load and recovery needs. This evidence reinforces the importance of integrating behavioral science, sports psychology, and nutrition to better understand how individuals intrinsically regulate energy intake to support performance and long-term metabolic health.In sum, the evidence indicates that adaptive eating behaviors are not merely reactive or compensatory; they represent trainable, measurable strategies that allow athletes to sustain performance and long-term health. This Research Topic, therefore, encourages a shift in both research and applied practicefrom merely identifying dysfunction to positive adaptive behaviors. Importantly, these findings highlight the crucial role of the sports nutrition professional, who is qualified to assess energy availability, identify early signs of eating disorders, and design an individualized dietary plan to optimize performance and overall health in athletes (8). As the field advances, future investigations should explore the thresholds of adaptation, identify biomarkers of adaptive regulation, and develop behavioral strategies that accommodate individual variability in energy availability. Bridging mechanistic insights with applied interventions will be essential to fully operationalize adaptive eating as a scientific and practical framework in contemporary sports nutrition.