Exploring relationships of disordered eating and body dissatisfaction with lean, non-lean, and mixed sport athletes
Creators: name: Fitts, Virginia
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2022

description: Prior literature has found disordered eating patterns and body dissatisfaction to be prevalent among specific populations including women, adolescents, and young adults, as well as athletes. However, there is limited research pertaining to men athletes as it is believed that women athletes are at greater risk of body dissatisfaction and endorsement of disordered eating practices. There is ample research that focuses on eating disorders among athletes, yet research lacks when comparing prevalence of disordered eating and body dissatisfaction between lean vs. non-lean athletes using comprehensive measures. Thus, the purpose of this secondary data analysis was to determine the prevalence of disordered eating and body satisfaction among women and men athletes, and to explore disordered eating and body satisfaction differences among lean, non-lean, and mixed sport-type athletes. Participants (N=1,279) ages 18-25 years old from Rutgers University in New Jersey were recruited via student listserves as well as announcements in freshmen and sophomore level classes at Rutgers University to complete a cross-sectional, online survey with valid and reliable instruments that assessed disordered eating behaviors and body shape satisfaction using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, self-reported height and weight (i.e., body mass index [BMI]), and demographic characteristics (e.g., age, race/ethnicity). Independent t-tests examined body shape satisfaction and disordered eating behavior differences between men (n=498) and women (n=781) with effect sizes determined by Cohen’s d tests Athletes were further classified into non-lean (n=809), lean (n=240), and mixed athlete (n=230) groups based on their sport participation and stratified by gender. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey post-hoc follow-up tests examined disordered eating behavior differences among and between athlete classification groups by gender. Partial ETA-squared were considered small (η²= 0.01), medium (η²= 0.06) and large (η²= 0.14) in effect size. On average, participants were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their body shape (3.07±0.82SD, 5-point Likert scale). Additionally, participants reported within the last 28 days, they experienced between 1 and 5 days of eating, shape, and weight concerns. Binge eating was the most common behavior reported; on average, participants reported binge eating 3 times in the last 28 days. Purging behaviors remained low with participants reporting using excessive exercise (1.75±1.33), laxative use (1.14±0.79) and self-induced vomiting (1.11±0.70) around 1 to 2 times in the last 28 days in the effort to control their body weight. Independent t-tests found women had significantly (p&lt;0.05) lower body satisfaction and higher shape, weight, and eating concerns compared to men with small to medium effect sizes. Women were also significantly (p=0.043) more likely to report using laxatives and significantly (p&lt;0.001) less likely to report exercising excessively in the past month to control their body weight and shape compared to men with small effect sizes. When comparing the three athlete classifications using ANOVA, there was no significant body shape satisfaction, and eating, shape and weight concerns, and disordered eating behavior differences in men and women. Findings suggest women athletes are at higher risk of disordered eating practices compared to men athletes with little discernable differences by athlete classification of lean, non-lean of mixed athlete. When considering future research, it is important to determine a framework in which classifications of sports are assigned; this would include a definition of what would be considered a ‘lean,” “non-lean,” and “mixed” athlete. Addressing the level of difficulty of the sports may be important to examine in future work as well longitudinal studies to better examine temporal relationships. Understanding the implications and risk factors that are associated with different sport types may help with the prevention of disordered eating in athletes.