SUNY Oneonta Students Lead Body Image Workshop for Student Athletes

Four SUNY Oneonta students served as Peer Leaders for the "Female Athlete Body Project," a body image and food-as-fuel workshop for student-athletes.

Throughout the 2025-26 academic year, students Amelia Cataldo, Tarryn Herman, Anna Kern and Arionna Day worked with the SUNY Oneonta swim team and women's tennis team to highlight the importance of body positivity and body acceptance, geared toward an athlete perspective. The goal of the program was to help athletes view their bodies as tools for success in their sport and to see food as fuel.

The peer leaders ran a series of three workshops to present information, hold discussions, provide resources and handouts, and then worked with one team at a time to support the nutrition and body image needs, giving a practical approach to the importance of body acceptance for athletes.

"Our student-athlete peer leaders have taken on additional leadership roles within the Body Project Program to support a population that often needs more guidance and resources around nutrition and body positivity-student athletes," said Associate Professor of Sport and Exercise Sciences Katherine Griffes. "These peer leaders have really taken the lead in additional training and preparation to present their athlete peers with education and hands-on practice in body positivity and healthy nutrition practices, seeing food as fuel."

The program builds on research funded by the Student Grant Program for Research and Creative Activity from spring 2024, when students conducted a campus-wide needs assessment. In response, The Body Project was launched during the 2024-2025 academic year to address the concerns through peer-led workshops to challenge harmful appearance ideals and encourage healthier attitudes.