The Health of Competitive Fitness Athletes
Condition: Resting Metabolic Rate; Bone Mineral Density, Low, Susceptibility to; Body Image; Perfectionism; Depression; Eating Disorder; Exercise-Related Amenorrhea; Exercise Addiction; Binge Eating; Dietary Amenorrhea; Dietary Deficiency
MeSH terms: Malnutrition; Disease Susceptibility; Bulimia; Amenorrhea; Depression; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Binge-Eating Disorder
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Fitness athletes emphasize the value of staying lean, muscular and defined, and motivates and
      inspires followers through social media. We want to study the effect of such lifestyle on
      selected aspects of psychological and physical health in female fitness athletes, and compare
      the outcomes to a healthy, physically active female population.
    

Detailed description: 
      Little is known about the mental and physical health effect from following the modern,
      idealized fitness lifestyle. The lifestyle is characterized by selective and restrictive
      eating behavior, strength training and use of supplements. The athletes emphasize the value
      of staying lean, muscular and defined, and motivates and inspires followers through social
      media. This study will recruit and observe a group of competitive female fitness athletes
      over their typical 3 month dieting period when preparing for contest. Before their contest
      diet is initiated, the athletes will be screened on selected aspects of psychological and
      physical health. The screening is repeated two weeks prior to their first seasonal contest,
      and then finally one month post-contest season. During the diet period of 3 months, the
      athletes answers brief questionnaires by email on eating- and training behavior and on mood,
      while also reporting dietary intake by telephone interview.

      Recreational physically females, not planning to do any fitness contest, will be recruited to
      serve as a parallel control group. They will perform the same physical and psychological
      screening, and answer the same questionnaires throughout the fitness contest diet period.
    

Intervention name(s): Psychological health; Physiological health
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Observing and measuring baseline, and changes in, psychological health through a fitness contest preparation period; Observing and measuring baseline, and changes in, physiological health through a fitness contest preparation period
Observational model: Case-Control
Time perspective: Prospective
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Female, fitness athletes are being recruited through social media, Fitness team leaders and
        the Norwegian national federation for Bodybuilding and Fitness.

        Physically active, female controls are being recruited through social media, training
        facilities and through colleagues at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
      
Keywords: Body composition; Bone mineral density; Binge Eating; Eating Disorder; Exercise Dependency; Depression; Perfectionism; Body building; Drive for Muscularity; Drive for leanness