Understanding risk factors for disordered eating symptomatology in athletes: A prospective study.

Disordered eating and eating disorders have huge impact on athletic health and performance. Understanding risk factors for disordered eating development is paramount to protecting the health and performance of these athletes. This project tested a model longitudinally to test whether body dissatisfaction (mediated by negative affect) and societal pressures (mediated by internalisation) predicted bulimic symptomatology at 1 year. The study recruited 1017 male and female athletes in a range of sports at three time points over a year. Cross-lag meditation modelling in MPLUS was utilised to test the hypothesised model. Results indicated that societal pressures mediated by general internalisation led to bulimic symptomatology and that gender and sport type do moderate the relationships. However, measurement issues indicate that scales not originally created for athletes may not reliably measure athletes' experience. This research highlights how understanding how to better assess risk factors and disordered eating related concepts in athletes is a key next step. The study is unique in its longitudinal design and in its sampling of a wide range of sports in both male and female athletes.

A Qualitative Exploration of Sport and Social Pressures on Elite Athletes in Relation to Disordered Eating.

Introduction: Athletes are at increased risk of disordered eating compared to non-athletes. Inspired by previous investigation into quantitative work on an etiological model of disordered eating in athletes, the current study aimed to explore a problematic aspect of the model: athletes' lived experiences of social and sport pressures in relation to the onset of disordered eating and differing eating behaviors. Methods: Nine (N = 9) male and female athletes representing a range of endurance sports took part in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was utilized. Analysis: Analysis revealed two main themes each with two corresponding subthemes (1) Conflating physical appearance and sporting ability with the subthemes of (1a) social comparison in a sporting world and (1b) societal notions of "the athlete body" and (2) Living as an athlete with the corresponding subthemes of (2a) discipline and sacrifice and (2b) the balancing act. Discussion: It is the complex interaction between societal expectations as lived out in social messages and comparisons, and sport pressures that contributes to the development of disordered eating behaviors. These findings suggest that prevention and treatment of disordered eating in athletes can be applied from those already established in non-sporting realm.

"If she had broken her leg she would not have waited in agony for 9 months": Caregiver's experiences of eating disorder treatment.

This study aims to explore caregivers' experiences of eating disorder services and subsequent impacts on the caregiving burden and patient outcomes. Thematic analysis was employed to investigate qualitative data from a caregiver-targeted online survey run by BEAT, the UK's largest eating disorder charity. Six hundred and 16 caregivers completed the survey. Participants' experiences of eating disorder treatment were predominantly negative, characterised by three main themes: (a) Barriers to care: enduring obstacles caregivers face in accessing support for their loved ones, (b) Experiences of services: high levels of unmet needs for caregivers and patients alike, (c) Affected domains: the pervasive impact of caregiving, influenced by experiences of services. This study is the largest of its kind to explore caregivers' experiences of eating disorder treatment services and aims to give voice to this overlooked group within research. Notably, little has been done to address broader systemic challenges faced by caregivers in accessing support for loved ones. Results indicate these challenges may play a substantial role in shaping the caregiving burden, carer coping styles, and subsequent patient outcomes. Findings denote wider systemic issues and a lack of specificities of information and practical skills that could help prevent caregivers from experiencing the caregiving burden and subsequent consequences on eating disorder patient outcomes.

Psychological risk indicators of disordered eating in athletes.

OBJECTIVES: This project examined risk factors of disordered eating in athletes by adapting and applying a theoretical model. It tested a previously proposed theoretical model and explored the utility of a newly formed model within an athletic population across gender, age, and sport type to explain disordered eating. DESIGN: The design was cross-sectional and the first phase in a series of longitudinal studies. METHODS: 1,017 athletes completed online questionnaires related to social pressures, internalisation, body dissatisfaction, negative affect, restriction, and bulimia. Structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the fit of the measurement and structural models and to do invariance testing. RESULTS: The original theoretical model failed to achieve acceptable goodness of fit (χ2 [70, 1017] = 1043.07; p < .0001. CFI = .55; GFI = .88; NFI = .53; RMSEA = .12 [90% CI = .111-.123]). Removal of non-significant pathways and addition of social media resulted in the model achieving a parsimonious goodness of fit (χ2 [19, 1017] = 77.58; p < .0001. CFI = .96; GFI = .98; NFI = .95; RMSEA = .055 [90% CI = .043-.068]). Invariance tests revealed that the newly revised model differed across gender, age, level, competition status, and length of sport participation. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the formation of disordered eating symptomology might not be associated with sport pressures experienced by athletes. It revealed that disordered eating development varies across gender, competition level, sport type, and age, which must be considered to prevent and treat disordered eating in athletes.

Systematic review of risk factors for eating psychopathology in athletes: A critique of an etiological model.

OBJECTIVE: The theoretical model by Petrie and Greenleaf (2007, 2012) is an admirable attempt to collate the causal factors of disordered eating in athletes. The aims of this systematic review are (a) to provide an overview of the findings from the relevant literature, (b) to assess whether the model is supported by the existing research, (c) to evaluate the different designs, methods, and measures used to test the mediators in the model, and (d) to highlight areas for improvements and future research. METHOD: A systematic review of four major online databases identified 37 relevant papers on risk factors of disordered eating in athletes, which were reviewed and critically compared with the theoretical model. RESULTS: There is a lack of longitudinal research with the relevant mediators in athlete populations, which makes it difficult to determine whether the potential mediators described by Petrie and Greenleaf are causal risk factors rather than simply correlates of disordered eating for athletes. Findings for all the potential mediators are inconsistent, and the range of measures used makes it problematic to draw conclusions. CONCLUSIONS: Future research needs to use gold standard measures and longitudinal designs in order to fully test and possibly update the model.