Participation in athletic activities and eating disordered behavior

Responses of fitness center employees to cases of suspected eating disorders or excessive exercise

BACKGROUND

While exercise and physical activity are important parts of a healthy life, there is evidence that some individuals exercise to a degree which may jeopardize their health. These individuals may in some cases be exercising to lose weight or compensate binge eating episodes as part of an eating disorder. Others may experience an addiction-like relationship with exercise. Fitness center employees are ideally placed to observe these forms of unhealthy behavior, and are responsible for ensuring that clients do not put themselves at undue risk; however, to date, no study has addressed both eating disorders and excessive exercise. Therefore, the aim of our study is to determine whether these employees report incidences of these issues, and if they believe they can differentiate between them.

METHODS

One-hundred-and-forty fitness centers in the German-speaking regions of Switzerland were contacted. Of these, 99 employees (60 men, 39 women, M_age = 33.33 years, SD = 12.02) responded to an online questionnaire. The questionnaire briefly described the two issues of interest (eating disorders and excessive exercise), and then invited respondents to complete a number of questions detailing whether they had experience with these issues, and how they dealt with them.

RESULTS

Approximately 75% of the employees had suspected a client of having an eating disorder or exercising excessively, and 65% of these respondents confronted the client at least once. Interestingly, respondents reported clearly that they felt able to differentiate between the two types of disorder. Older respondents were significantly more likely to have suspicions and act on them. However, less than half of the respondents were aware of guidelines addressing this issue, and the majority desired more information about how to identify and address both disorders.

CONCLUSIONS

Swiss fitness center employees frequently encounter individuals who they suspect of exercising excessively, or suffering from an eating disorder. While they often confront these individuals, they would like more detailed information about how to manage this process. Given that both disorders can potentially lead to severe health consequences, a detailed description of symptoms, management techniques and resources should be a feature in all Swiss fitness center guidelines.

Prevalence of Orthorexia nervosa among college students based on Bratman's test and associated tendencies

Disordered eating is prevalent among college student populations, and Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is being explored as a new type of eating disorder. There is currently no standardized ON diagnostic tool, and the majority of ON research has been conducted among European populations. The present study explored the Bratman Orthorexia Test (BOT) for ON diagnosis, and its relationship to validated tools for assessing disordered eating, body dysmorphic, and obsessive-compulsive tendencies among college students attending a western university. A convenience sample of 448 college students with a mean age of 22 years was recruited to complete an online survey that included the BOT, Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire (BDDQ), Obsessive Compulsive Inventory, Revised (OCI-R) and demographics. Spearman correlation, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, chi-square, and multiple linear regressions were used for analyses. The average BOT score was 4.71, near the "health fanatic" range, with Hispanic/Latino subjects and overweight/obese students having significantly higher median BOT scores. Gender, age, and college major were not significantly associated with BOT score. Significant positive correlations were observed between total BOT and EAT-26 scores (r = .47, p < 0.01), BOT and BDDQ scores (r = .25, p < 0.01), and BOT and OCI-R scores (r = .19, p < 0.01). ON tendencies may exist among college students and Hispanic/Latino and overweight/obese students may be at increased risk. Further research is needed to determine ON risk factors among diverse student populations in order to inform prevention and treatment approaches on college campuses.

Anti-dieting advice from teammates: a pilot study of the experience of female collegiate cross country runners

Disordered eating behaviors and restrictive dieting can have negative health consequences for female athletes. Teammates can play an important role in primary and secondary prevention of these unhealthy eating practices through verbal and non-verbal communication about what behaviors are normative and desirable. The present study tested two tested hypotheses related to the way anti-dieting advice from teammates is distributed: (a) that there are significant between-team differences in the level of anti-dieting advice received, and (b) that the frequency of anti-dieting advice from teammates is positively associated with the severity of an individual's eating disorder symptomatology and negatively associated with their body mass index (BMI). Participants were female members (n = 89) of six U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women's cross country teams. Findings revealed significant between-team differences in the frequency of anti-dieting advice, controlling for team levels of disordered eating. Eating pathology and BMI were positively associated with anti-dieting advice received. Implications for the design of interventions to encourage effective within-team communication for promoting teammate health are discussed.

Effects of perfectionism and exercise on disordered eating in college students

PURPOSE

This study examined two dimensions of perfectionism (Standards and Discrepancy), two aspects of exercise (cardiovascular and strength), and the interaction of these variables as predictors of disordered eating in female and male college students.

METHODS

Recruited participants (N=314; n=204 women) completed self-report measures of disordered eating (Eating Attitudes Test), perfectionism (Almost Perfect Scale-Revised; Standards and Discrepancy subscales), and exercise (strength and cardiovascular).

RESULTS

Among women, there was a significant three-way interaction between the two dimensions of perfectionism (Standards and Discrepancy) and cardiovascular exercise. Also among women, there was a significant two-way interaction between the Standards dimension and strength exercise and between the Discrepancy dimension and strength exercise. There were no significant main effects or interactions among men.

CONCLUSIONS

We found some support for the hypotheses that adaptive perfectionism (higher Standards coupled with lower Discrepancy) is a protective factor for disordered eating and that maladaptive perfectionism (higher Standards coupled with higher Discrepancy) is a risk factor, although, only among women who engaged in lower, but not higher, levels of cardiovascular exercise. The findings also suggest that it may be beneficial to consider dimensions of perfectionism and exercise separately when studying disordered eating.

Eating disorder-specific health-related quality of life and exercise in college females

OBJECTIVE

Although eating disorder (ED) symptoms result in reduced quality of life (QOL), research is needed to examine variables that influence this relationship. The purpose of our study was to conceptually examine the relationship among ED-specific QOL, ED symptoms, and exercise behavior.

METHOD

Female university students (N = 387) completed ED-specific QOL, exercise behavior, ED symptoms, and exercise dependence symptoms measures.

RESULTS

We found support for the beneficial association of psychological QOL on ED symptoms as well as the detrimental association of exercise dependence on ED symptoms.

DISCUSSION

Our results suggest that improvements in psychological aspects of QOL resulting from exercise may mediate ED symptoms when exercise motivations are not pathological. We discuss further research and intervention implications of our findings.

Patterns and prevalence of disordered eating and weight control behaviors in women ages 25-45

OBJECTIVE

The current study describes detailed eating behaviors, dieting behaviors, and attitudes about shape and weight in 4023 women ages 25 to 45.

METHOD

The survey was delivered on-line and participants were identified using a national quota-sampling procedure.

RESULTS

Disordered eating behaviors, extreme weight loss measures, and negative cognitions about shape and weight were widely endorsed by women in this age group and were not limited to White participants. Thirty-one percent of women without a history of anorexia nervosa or binge eating reported having purged to control weight, and 74.5% of women reported that their concerns about shape and weight interfered with their happiness.

DISCUSSION

Unhealthy approaches to weight control and negative attitudes about shape and weight are pervasive even among women without eating disorders. The development of effective approaches to address the impact of these unhealthy behaviors and attitudes on the general well-being and functioning of women is required.