Likelihood of suffering from an eating disorder in a sample of Spanish cyclists and triathletes

Abstract Background During recent years, there has been increasing interest in the study of eating disorders within sports practitioners, with prevalence being reported to be higher than in the general population. The aim of this study was to describe and predict eating disorders according to sex, body mass index, age and sport discipline within a sample of athletes. Methods A sample of 4037 cyclists and triathletes from across Spain was selected. Athletes self-reported demographic characteristics and completed the revised restraint scale, SCOFF questionnaire and Mediterranean diet adherence screener. To be eligible for inclusion, participants had to be over eighteen years old. Results Males were significantly less likely than females (p < 0.001; OR = 0.33), and triathletes (p < 0.01; OR = 0.76) were less likely than cyclists to suffer from an eating disorder. Possibility of suffering from an eating disorder increased with increasing body mass index (p < 0.001; OR = 1.38) and decreasing age (p < 0.001; OR = 0.97). Conclusion Findings suggest that the roles of sex, sport discipline, age and body mass index predict risk factors for eating disorders in a sample of Spanish athletes. Clinical diagnosis seems necessary to better understand the factors and mechanisms at play when Spanish athletes develop an eating disorder. Trial registration Ethics Committee of the University of Granada (N°883) data: 16/11/2015.

Download Full-text

Restrained eating in Lebanese adolescents: scale validation and correlates

BMC Pediatrics ◽

10.1186/s12887-021-02728-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Tracy Boulos Nakhoul ◽

Anthony Mina ◽

Michel Soufia ◽

Sahar Obeid ◽

Souheil Hallit

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Eating Disorders ◽

Eating Disorder ◽

Body Dissatisfaction ◽

Body Mass ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Activity Index ◽

Arab Countries ◽

Restrained Eating ◽

Distress Scale

Abstract Background Restrained eating disorder is prevalent worldwide across both ethnic and different cultural groups, and most importantly within the adolescent population. Additionally, comorbidities of restrained eating present a large burden on both physical and mental health of individuals. Moreover, literature is relatively scarce in Arab countries regarding eating disorders, let alone restrained eating, and among adolescent populations; hence, the aim of this study was to (1) validate the Dutch Restrained Eating Scale in a sample of Lebanese adolescents and (2) assess factors correlated with restrained eating (RE), while taking body dissatisfaction as a moderator between body mass index (BMI) and RE. Methods This cross-sectional study, conducted between May and June 2020 during the lockdown period imposed by the Lebanese government, included 614 adolescents aged between 15 and 18 years from all Lebanese governorates (mean age of 16.66 ± 1.01 years). The scales used were: Dutch Restrained Eating Scale, body dissatisfaction subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory-Second version, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Beirut Distress Scale (for psychological distress), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire (for depression). Results The factor analysis yielded a one-factor solution with Eigen values > 1 (variance explained = 59.65 %; αCronbach = 0.924). Female gender (B = 0.19), higher BMI (B = 0.49), higher physical activity index (B = 0.17), following a diet to lose weight (B = 0.26), starving oneself to lose weight (B = 0.13), more body dissatisfaction (B = 1.09), and higher stress (B = 0.18) were significantly associated with more RE, whereas taking medications to lose weight (B=-0.10) was significantly associated with less RE. The interaction body mass index (BMI) by body dissatisfaction was significantly associated with RE; in the group with low BMI, higher body dissatisfaction was significantly associated with more RE. Conclusions Our study showed that the Dutch Restrained Eating scale is an adapted and validated tool to be used among Lebanese adolescents and revealed factors associated with restrained eating in this population. Since restrained eating has been associated with many clinically-diagnosed eating disorders, the results of this study might serve as a first step towards the development of prevention strategies targeted towards promoting a healthy lifestyle in Lebanese adolescents.

Download Full-text

Menstruation disorders in adolescents with eating disorders – target body mass index percentiles for their resolution

Einstein (São Paulo) ◽

10.1590/s1679-45082014ao2942 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 175-180 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Beatriz Vale ◽

Sara Brito ◽

Lígia Paulos ◽

Pascoal Moleiro

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Eating Disorders ◽

Anorexia Nervosa ◽

Eating Disorder ◽

Body Mass ◽

Female Adolescents ◽

Secondary Amenorrhea ◽

Not Otherwise Specified ◽

Initial Body Mass Index ◽

The Ideal

Objective To analyse the progression of body mass index in eating disorders and to determine the percentile for establishment and resolution of the disease.Methods A retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study. Review of clinical files of adolescents with eating disorders.Results Of the 62 female adolescents studied with eating disorders, 51 presented with eating disorder not otherwise specified, 10 anorexia nervosa, and 1 bulimia nervosa. Twenty-one of these adolescents had menstrual disorders; in that, 14 secondary amenorrhea and 7 menstrual irregularities (6 eating disorder not otherwise specified, and 1 bulimia nervosa). In average, in anorectic adolescents, the initial body mass index was in 75thpercentile; secondary amenorrhea was established 1 month after onset of the disease; minimum weight was 76.6% of ideal body mass index (at 4th percentile) at 10.2 months of disease; and resolution of amenorrhea occurred at 24 months, with average weight recovery of 93.4% of the ideal. In eating disorder not otherwise specified with menstrual disorder (n=10), the mean initial body mass index was at 85thpercentile; minimal weight was in average 97.7% of the ideal value (minimum body mass index was in 52nd percentile) at 14.9 months of disease; body mass index stabilization occured at 1.6 year of disease; and mean body mass index was in 73rd percentile. Considering eating disorder not otherwise specified with secondary amenorrhea (n=4); secondary amenorrhea occurred at 4 months, with resolution at 12 months of disease (mean 65th percentile body mass index).Conclusion One-third of the eating disorder group had menstrual disorder − two-thirds presented with amenorrhea. This study indicated that for the resolution of their menstrual disturbance the body mass index percentiles to be achieved by female adolescents with eating disorders was 25-50 in anorexia nervosa, and 50-75, in eating disorder not otherwise specified.

Download Full-text

Prevalence and management of people with eating disorders presenting to primary care: A national study

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0004867421998752 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 000486742199875

Author(s):

Lorraine Ivancic ◽

Sarah Maguire ◽

Jane Miskovic-Wheatley ◽

Christopher Harrison ◽

Natasha Nassar

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Primary Care ◽

Body Mass Index ◽

Eating Disorders ◽

Eating Disorder ◽

Body Mass ◽

National Study ◽

Specialist Service ◽

Related Condition ◽

Low Body Mass Index

Objective: Primary care practitioners are well placed to support diagnosis and appropriate treatment of eating disorders as they are often the first point of contact with the health care system. However, little is known about management of eating disorders in primary care. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of management of eating disorders in primary care and identify how these disorders are managed. Methods: This study used data from the Bettering the Evaluation of Care of Health programme, which annually surveys 1000 randomly sampled general practitioners in Australia who each record details of 100 successive patient encounters. In total, data were utilised from 1,568,100 primary care encounters between 2000/2001 and 2015/2016. Results: Eating disorders were managed in less than 1% of primary care encounters between 2000/2001 and 2015/2016. When extrapolated to the Australian population, up to 0.32% of the population were managed in primary care for a primary or probable eating disorder. In the majority of encounters where an eating disorder was managed (58.5%), the encounter was initiated for reasons other than the eating disorder itself. Of a group of patients identified with a clinically significant low body mass index ( N = 5917), a small number ( n = 118) had either no other diagnosis or a related condition that may be indicative of an eating disorder. In encounters where an eating disorder was managed, referrals to a mental health specialist/service, medical specialist and nutritionist/dietician were provided in 20%, 8% and 6% of encounters, respectively. Mental health treatment plans, which provide subsidised access to mental health services, were ascribed in approximately 7.7% of encounters where an eating disorder was managed. Conclusion: Primary care provides an opportunity to improve detection and management of eating disorders, particularly when patients present for ‘other’ issues or with unexplained low body mass index and one or more symptoms related to an eating disorder.

Download Full-text

The outcome at follow-up after inpatient eating disorder treatment: a naturalistic study

Journal of Eating Disorders ◽

10.1186/s40337-020-00349-6 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Marit Danielsen ◽

Sigrid Bjørnelv ◽

Siri Weider ◽

Tor Åge Myklebust ◽

Henrik Lundh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Eating Disorders ◽

Treatment Outcome ◽

Eating Disorder ◽

Body Mass ◽

Inpatient Treatment ◽

Symptom Improvement ◽

Eating Disorder Symptoms ◽

Significant Symptom

Abstract Background Patients with eating disorders may experience a severe and enduring course of illness. Treatment outcome for patients provided with inpatient treatment is reported as poor. Research to date has not provided consistent results for predictors of treatment outcome. The aims of the study were to investigate rates of remission at follow-up after inpatient treatment, symptom change from admission to follow-up, and predictors of treatment outcome. Methods The follow-up sample consisted of 150 female adult former patients (69.4% of all eligible female patients) with eating disorders. Mean age at admission was 21.7 (SD = 4.9) years. Diagnostic distribution: 66% (n = 99) anorexia nervosa, 21.3% (n = 32) bulimia nervosa and 12.7% (n = 19) other specified feeding or eating disorder, including binge eating. Data were collected at admission, discharge and follow-up (mean 2.7 (SD = 1.9) years). Definition of remission was based on the EDE-Q Global score, body mass index and binge/purge behavior. Paired T-tests were performed to investigate change over time. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were estimated to investigate predictors of remission. Results At follow-up, 35.2% of the participants were classified as in remission. Significant symptom reduction (in all patients) (p < 0.001) and significant increase in body mass index (BMI) (in underweight participants at admission) (p < 0.001) was found. Increased BMI (p < 0.05), the level of core eating disorder symptoms at admission (p < 0.01) and reduced core eating disorder symptoms (p < 0.01) during inpatient treatment were found significant predictors of outcome in the multivariate model. Conclusions All participants had an eating disorder requiring inpatient treatment. Approximately one-third of all participants could be classified as in remission at follow-up. However, most participants experienced significant symptom improvement during inpatient treatment and the improvements were sustained at follow-up. Increased probability of remission at follow-up was indicated by lower core ED symptoms at admission for all patients, raised BMI during admission for patients with AN, and reduced core ED symptoms during inpatient treatment for all patients. This finding contributes important information and highlights the importance of targeting these core symptoms in transdiagnostic treatment programs.

Download Full-text

Words with weight: The construction of obesity in eating disorders research

Health An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health Illness and Medicine ◽

10.1177/1363459318785706 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 113-131 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sandra Gotovac ◽

Andrea LaMarre ◽

Kathryn Lafreniere

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Eating Disorders ◽

Weight Loss ◽

Eating Disorder ◽

Body Mass ◽

Cultural Sensitivity ◽

Thin Ideal ◽

History Of ◽

Fat Bodies ◽

Health Discourse

In current public health discourse, obesity is conceptualized as a disease epidemic, with treatment being weight loss. The pursuit of weight loss as a treatment for the “disease” of obesity is in direct contradiction to the history of research in eating disorders, which has demonstrated the risks for the development of eating disorders. In this study, we critically examined the eating disorder literature to explore this contradiction. We analyzed 30 of the top-cited articles in the eating disorder literature between 1994 and 2011, asking: how is the concept of obesity examined in eating disorder research? We identified tensions related to body mass index and the perceived associated risks of lower or higher body mass index, assumptions of the “causes” of fatness (i.e. overeating and inactivity), and the anti-diet voice challenging the prescription of dieting for those in fat bodies. In our analysis, we highlight the problematics of, for instance, prescribing a body mass index range of 20–24 in eating disorder recovery, how many studies in eating disorders do not problematize the presumption that a higher body mass index is necessarily associated with ill health, and a lack of cultural sensitivity and acknowledgment of intersectional spaces of belonging. We discuss these themes in the context of biomedical discourses of obesity contributing to the cultural thin ideal. We argue that biomedical discourses on obesity contribute to the thin ideal nuanced against discourses of healthism that permeate our society. Rather than an ideal of emaciation, it is an ideal of a healthy, productive person, often constructed as morally superior. The moral panic around obesity is evident throughout the eating disorder literature, which is a concern given that we would hope that the aim of eating disorder treatment would be to promote wellness for all—not only those who are thin.

Download Full-text

Mediterranean Diet Adherence, Body Composition and Performance in Beach Handball Players: A Cross Sectional Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18062837 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 2837

Author(s):

Alejandro Martínez-Rodríguez ◽

María Martínez-Olcina ◽

María Hernández-García ◽

Jacobo Á. Rubio-Arias ◽

Javier Sánchez-Sánchez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Composition ◽

Mediterranean Diet ◽

Lean Body Mass ◽

Body Mass ◽

Eating Habits ◽

Individual Performance ◽

Dominant Hand ◽

Diet Adherence ◽

Mediterranean Diet Adherence ◽

And Performance

Background: Beach handball (BH) is a sport in which sporting performance is influenced, together with team interaction, by individual performance in terms of strength. Body composition is one of the main factors for sports performance and eating habits can condition this variable. The Mediterranean diet (MD) can significantly reduce the risk of mortality or cardiovascular disease. In addition, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment carries out different campaigns to promote it among young athletes, establishing it as a suitable diet for sports. Objectives: The main aims of the study are to assess body composition, physical activity and adherence to the MD of beach handball players. It also aims to evaluate age group differences in male and female players, as well as studying the possible relationship between MD, body composition and performance variables. Methods: A total of 59 Spanish BH players were recruited in the national championship of BH in the province of Alicante. Thirty-eight male (14 junior; 17.0 ± 0.1 years and 24 seniors; 25.5 ± 4.7 years) and twenty-one female (7 junior; 16.1 ± 1.46 years and 14 seniors; 23.2 ± 2.0 years) BH players participated in this study. The questionnaire to evaluate eating habits was Mediterranean diet adherence (KIDMED). Body composition was measured with electrical bioimpedance. Strength was evaluated by means of a maximum isometric handgrip test of the dominant hand with handgrip and height of jump by counter-jump on contact platform. In the statistical analysis, descriptions and correlations between the study variables were made. Results: In females, when the adherence to the MD is lower, the weight is higher, the lean body mass is lower and worse results are observed in performance tests. As for males, there are differences in weight and lean body mass according to category. Conclusions: Adequate eating habits are related to the weight of beach handball athletes. In addition, specifically with junior players, it has been observed that adherence to the MD correlates with weight.

Download Full-text