Weight Concerns, Weight Control Techniques, and Eating Disorders among Adolescent Competitive Swimmers: The Effect of Gender

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane E. Taub ◽  
Rose Ann Benson
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Weight Control ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Young Female ◽  
Female Adolescent ◽  
Weight Concerns ◽  
Control Techniques ◽  
College Age ◽  
Competitive Swimmers

Since most research on eating disorders among athletes has focused on college-age samples, the present investigation examines the adolescent competitive swimmer. Three areas related to weight and eating habits were explored: general concerns about weight, use of weight control techniques, and tendencies toward anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and associated behavioral/personal characteristics. Previous research has found females to be at greater risk than males, thus gender comparisons were undertaken. Questionnaires were completed by 85 adolescent competitive swimmers attending a nationally known summer swim camp at a large midwestern university. Consistent with the cultural norm of thinness for women, young female swimmers desired weight loss more than their male counterparts did. In terms of actual pathogenic weight control techniques or eating disorder tendencies, however, few significant gender differences were found. Neither male nor female adolescent swimmers were particularly susceptible to eating disorders or pathogenic weight control techniques.

Weight Concern, Body Image, and Abnormal Eating in College Women Tennis Players and Their Coaches

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary B. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
College Women ◽  
Eating Behaviors ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Weight Concern ◽  
Weight Concerns ◽  
Tennis Players ◽  
Abnormal Eating

In order to study weight concerns and eating disorders in women tennis players, 107 women tennis players and 26 women’s tennis coaches from colleges across the U.S. responded to questionnaires relating to weight concern, body image, and abnormal eating. When evaluating drawings of female figures, players and coaches both considered the ideal body shape to be smaller than the healthiest one. Most players had normal weight, eating habits, and self-esteem; however, they also exhibited noticeable concern about their weight and appearance. Coaches revealed only moderate knowledge of weight related issues, believed such knowledge to be important, recognized that most of their players were of normal weight, and revealed somewhat negative feelings about overweight people. Players and coaches shared a healthy attitude toward tennis. The results of this study do not imply that college women tennis players are at greater risk of eating disorders than other young women, nor that college coaches are encouraging abnormal eating behaviors.

Overvaluation of body shape/weight and engagement in non-compensatory weight-control behaviors in eating disorders: is there a reciprocal relationship?

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (14) ◽  
pp. 2951-2958 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Tabri ◽  
H. B. Murray ◽  
J. J. Thomas ◽  
D. L. Franko ◽  
D. B. Herzog ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Weight Control ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Behavioral Model ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Weight Concerns ◽  
Weight Control Behaviors ◽  
Cognitive Behavioral Model

Background.Overvaluation of body shape/weight is thought to be the core psychopathology underlying eating disorders, which propels engagement in non-compensatory weight-control behaviors. In turn, these behaviors lead to binge eating and/or maintenance of low weight thereby reinforcing overvaluation. The present study investigated the reciprocal relationship between overvaluation and engagement in non-compensatory weight-control behaviors (defined in two ways: restrictive eating and compulsive exercise) among women diagnosed with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa (N = 237).Method.Participants completed clinical interviews in which weekly eating disorder symptoms and behaviors were assessed over 2 years.Results.Overvaluation on a given week was associated with greater engagement in non-compensatory weight-control behaviors during the following week. Further, engagement in non-compensatory weight-control behaviors on a given week was associated with greater overvaluation during the following week. These findings held true regardless of participants’ shape/weight concerns (feelings of fatness and fat phobia), and eating disorder diagnosis.Conclusions.Our data provide empirical support for key aspects of the transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral model of eating disorders and suggest that targeting non-compensatory weight-control behaviors in treatment may help alleviate overvaluation and shape/weight concerns.

scholarly journals RISK BEHAVIOR FOR BULIMIA AMONG ADOLESCENTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-224
Author(s):  
Lorenna Mendes Temóteo Brandt ◽  
Liege Helena Freitas Fernandes ◽  
Amanda Silva Aragão ◽  
Thayná Pinto da Costa Luna ◽  
Rodrigo Macedo Feliciano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Risk Behavior ◽  
Weight Control ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Prevalence Ratio ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Female Adolescent ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Significance Level

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the risk behavior for bulimia among female adolescents from public and private high schools. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a random sample of 850 female students aged 15-18 years was carried out in a city in northeastern Brazil, using the Bulimic Investigatory Test of Edinburgh (BITE) to assess the risk behavior for bulimia. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software and the Pearson’s chi-square , Fisher’s exact and robust Poisson regression tests, adopting the significance level of 5%. Results: Less than half of the sample (42.0%) showed standards of dietary risk and weight control practices; in 1.4% of the sample, bulimia signs were already installed. Fear of gaining weight was reported by 62.8% of the subjects. Risk practices were lower among students from public schools; (Odds Ratio - OR - 0.82; confidence interval of 95% - 95%CI - 0.69-0.97). Among restrictive practices, fasting for a whole day was the most applied (29.9% of the students). Among individuals who were at risk situation, almost half believed to have normal eating habits (prevalence ratio - PR - 0.42; 95%CI 0.36-0.49). Individuals who consider their eating habits normal, who are afraid of gaining weight, those who seek emotional comfort in food and follow strict diets had higher risk for bulimia (p<0.05). Conclusions: The number of female adolescent students with risk behavior practices for bulimia is high, and the frequency of those unaware of this situation is also very high. Risk situations emerge as a collective health problem, and individuals from private schools were more likely to be in this situation.

Coaches’ Attitudes, Knowledge, Experiences, and Recommendations Regarding Weight Control

1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Griffin ◽  
Mary B. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Ethnic Differences ◽  
Weight Control ◽  
Normal Incidence ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Control Techniques ◽  
Limited Knowledge ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Objective Indicators

Because of a higher than normal incidence of pathogenic weight-loss techniques and eating disorders in athletes, 274 coaches were surveyed to discover their attitudes, knowledge, personal experiences, and recommendations regarding weight control. Coaches demonstrated relatively negative attitudes toward and limited knowledge about obesity, with a few gender and ethnic differences. They tended to make decisions about the need for weight control on the basis of appearance rather than objective indicators, and they saw more females as needing to lose weight and more males as needing to gain. Although a majority of the coaches had tried to lose weight themselves, some using dangerous weight-control techniques, they did not recommend such techniques to their athletes. Nevertheless, it is possible that their obvious concern about weight may have been interpreted by their athletes as encouragement for using pathogenic weight-loss methods.

scholarly journals Anorexia Nervosa as a Manifestation of Self-Destructive Tendencies in the Light of Selected Psychodynamic Concepts – Towards the Promotion of Knowledge among Parents and Caregivers

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 227-240
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Cichecka-Wilk
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Weight Control ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Personal History ◽  
Educational Processes ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Internal Problem ◽  
The Individual

Summary Anorexia nervosa, which is one of the forms of eating disorders, can be considered as a manifestation of a long and very complex process of self-destruction. Although its genesis is usually associated with puberty problems, it is rarely a rapid phenomenon. It should be treated rather as a kind of epilogue of one’s personal history. Malnutrition and weight control appearing in its context are in fact a manifestation of an attempt to cope with the hardships experienced by individual. Therefore, the anorexia nervosa is not just a problem of weight or eating habits, but it’s a way of manifesting the internal problem of the individual. Its form, defined by the otherwise valid canons of beauty or success, and consolidated by behaviours learned during the use of slimming diets, is revealed, however, in connection with specific personality traits. That is why the importance of people with this disorder, to a large extent, of tendencies to self-destructive behaviour, leading more or less consciously to self-destruction and in extreme cases to death, is emphasized. The article deals with the problem of anorexia nervosa as a manifestation of self-destructive tendencies and the issue of factors and mechanisms conditioning the occurrence of self-destructive behaviour from the perspective of selected psychodynamic concepts, indicating the importance of the issue for the care and educational processes.

scholarly journals Eating Disorders in Top Elite Beach Handball Players: Cross Sectional Study

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
Alejandro Martínez-Rodríguez ◽  
Manuel Vicente-Martínez ◽  
Javier Sánchez-Sánchez ◽  
Laura Miralles-Amorós ◽  
María Martínez-Olcina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Sports Medicine ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Eating Attitudes ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Eat 26

(1) Background: The preoccupation with the increasing appearance of eating disorders (ED) in athletes continues to grow, especially in athletes who practice team sports. ED severely affects the eating habits of the athletes, who tend to use unhealthy approaches to control their body weight. The development of nutritional education and early interventions by training staff is essential, and these factors are widely perceived as beneficial in sports medicine. This study evaluates the frequency at which beach handball (BH) players develop ED, also comparing the differences by sex and age (junior: adolescents vs. senior: young adults). In addition, the relation between body composition variables and ED was studied. (2) Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in 69 top elite handball players (36 males and 33 females) from the Spanish National BH Team; who were separated by age (junior: adolescents and senior: young adults). The athletes completed the Eating Attitudes Test in its 26 item version (EAT-26). (3) Results: The prevalence of ED indicated that 11% of females had a high possibility of developing an ED, and 3% of males. Regarding the EAT-26 total score and subscales, no significant differences were found between female and male participants, or between the junior and senior categories. The correlations showed an association between body composition, in terms of body mass index, and the EAT-26 total score in both males and females. In the case of males, the correlation was negative. (4) Conclusions: Although there are no significant differences between sex or categories, it has been found that elite athletes are a population that is at high risk of developing ED.

scholarly journals Drunkorexia: empirical investigation and analysis of the characteristics of the phenomenon in an Italian sample of adolescents and young adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giada Pietrabissa ◽  
Alessandro Rossi ◽  
Michela Gaudenzi ◽  
Venessa Bertuzzi ◽  
Andrea Tagliagambe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Disordered Eating ◽  
Weight Control ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Drinking Problems ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Italian Sample

Introduction: the term drunkorexia refers to the act of self-imposed utilization of extreme weight control methods to compensate for alcohol consumption typically observed among university students. Despite its diffusion, there is a lack of research investigating the presence of this new alarming trend in Italy. Aim: this study estimates the frequency of drunkorexia behaviours in a sample of Italian youth aged 14-24, explores the motivations for alcohol consumption among those presenting drunkorexia-type behaviours, and examines the relationship between drunkorexia and disordered eating. Methods: drunkorexia behaviors, eating habits and motives for alcohol use were investigated in 403 subjects (F=301, M=102) aged 14-24 through self-report questionnaires. A series of analyses, including descriptive statistics, univariate analysis of the variance and multiple regressions were run. Results: 62.5% of the sample showed drunkorexia-type behaviours. Drunkorexia was related to disordered eating, especially among females older than eighteen. Discussion and Conclusions: this the first study investigating the incidence of drunkorexia behaviors in a sample of youth living in Northern Italy. Evidence-based interventions for eating disorders and drinking problems should inspire the development of ad hoc preventive and treatment actions for drunkorexia. 

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