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Prevalence of Disordered Eating among Non-elite Multisport Endurance Athletes



Author(s)

Jessica Mongrain, Geneviève Masson, Catherine Bégin and Benoît Lamarche

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DOI:10.17265/2332-7839/2018.01.001

The prevalence of concerns about food and body weight among non-elite multisport endurance athletes is unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of symptoms and concerns related to disordered eating and their association with performance among 162 non-elite athletes involved in multisport endurance summer and winter events. Self-reported symptoms and concerns related to disordered eating were assessed using the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) questionnaire. The mean EAT-26 score (± SEM) was 6.5 ± 0.5 and only 9 athletes (5.6%) scored 20 arbitrary units or above. In multivariate regression stepwise analyses, the EAT-26 score (β = 0.145, P = 0.0003) significantly predicted percent ranking. These findings suggest that the prevalence of self-reported symptoms of disordered eating is low among non-elite multisport endurance athletes. However, greater concerns regarding food intake and body weight may be associated with poorer performance even among non-elite athletes with normal BMI values and at the lower end of the EAT-26 score.

Endurance sports nutrition, triathlon, multisport event, disordered eating, eating disorders.