Prevalence of disordered eating and pathogenic weight control behaviors among NCAA division i female collegiate gymnasts and swimmers

摘要

Eating disorders and related weight control behaviors, such as excessive exercising and restrictive eating, represent serious health problems for girls and women in the United States and other industrialized nations (Striegel-Moore & Bulik, 2007). Female athletes, in particular, have been identified as a subgroup to study because of the unique weight, performance, and body image pressures they experience from coaches, teammates, fans, and judges. Such "sport-environment" pressures, when combined with general societal messages about the need to be thin and attractive, are thought to substantially increase female athletes' risk of developing disordered eating problems (Petrie & Greenleaf, 2007).