From: Weight-control behaviour and weight-concerns in young elite athletes – a systematic review
Author | Age in years(mean, SD) | Gender | Sample size total | Sample size athletes | Sample size controls | Sports type | Competition level | Controls | Outcome | Instruments | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anderson et al., 2011 [18] | 19.14 +/− 1.86 | females only | 414 | 414 | 0 | gymnastics, swimming/ diving | NCAA Division-I | n/a | WC, WCB | Body Parts Satisfaction Scale, Dietary Intent Scale | No significant difference between athletes competing in leanness and non-leanness sports. |
Arroyo et al., 2008 [30] | 19.6 +/− 1.3 | males only | 56 | 28 | 28 | soccer | Professional soccer team | age- and BMI-matched students; engagement in recreational sports <3hrs/week | WC | Somatomorphic matrix test | No significant difference between athletes and controls |
Artioli et al., 2010 [4] | 19.3 +/− 5.3 not specified according to gender | 607 male, 215 female | 822 | 822 | 0 | judo | national and international | n/a | WCB | Rapid Weight Loss Questionnaire | Athletes were engaged in several forms of pathogenic weight control behaviour. No gender differences could be found. An earlier start of using weight-control methods leads to more aggressive variants. |
Ferrand et al., 2005 [32] | athletes: 15.4 +/− 1.2 (swimmers) and 16.5 +/− 0.93 (rest) controls: 16.3 +/− 1.1 | not specified; only the swimmers included males | 132 | 82 | 50 | synchron. swimming, non-leanness sports (basketball, handball, soccer, volleyball) | national | non-athlete college students; no further elaboration about their sports activities | WC, WCB | Canadian-French version of Body-Esteem Scale, French version of Eating Attitudes Test | Athletes showed more weight concerns but not more weight-control behaviour than controls. No significant difference between athletes competing in leanness and non-leanness sports. |
Galli et al., 2009 [47] | 23 +/− 0.68 | males only | 10 | 10 | 0 | baseball, diving, football, golf, lacrosse, skiing, swimming | national and international | n/a | WC, WCB | Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews | Athletes did show some weight concerns. |
Greenleaf et al., 2009 [19] | 20.16 +/− 1.31 | females only | 204 | 204 | 0 | basketball, cheerleading cross-country, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, rowing, skiing, soccer, softb., swimming, synchron. swimming, tennis, track&field, volleyball | NCAA Division-I | n/a | WCB | Adapted version of Questionnaire of Eating Disorder Diagnosis, Bulimia Test-Revised | No significant difference between athletes competing in leanness and non-leanness sports. |
Johnson et al., 1999 [44] | 19.9 20.1 (male), 19.6 (female); no SD given | 883 male, 562 female | 1445 | 1445 | 0 | basketball, tennis, cross-country, football, gymnastics, nordic skiing, swimming, volleyball, wrestling | NCAA Division-I | n/a | WC, WCB | Self-created questionnaire including subscales from EDI-2, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Body Cathexis Scale | No significant difference between athletes competing in leanness and non-leanness sports. Female athletes have more pathogenic weight concerns and weight-control behaviour than male ones. |
Marshall et al., 1996 [31] | 20.8 +/− 3.8 (juniors 17.1 +/−0.9 and seniors 22.5 +/− 3.2) | not specified | 111 | 111 | 0 | field hockey | national and international | n/a | WC, WCB | EDI | Athletes did show weight concerns. No difference in pathogenic weight concerns and weight-control behaviour in connection with age. |
Martinsen et al., 2010 [13] | 15-16 (range) no mean given not specified according to gender | athletes: 389 male, 217 female controls: 197 male, 158 female | 961 | 606 | 355 | 50 different sports types, classified into leanness and non-leanness sports | students at elite sport schools, no further elaboration of competition level | age-matched 1st year high school students; no further elaboration about their sports activities | WC, WCB | EDI-2 | Controls used pathogenic weight-control behaviour significantly more often than athletes. Different reasons for weight control. No significant difference between athletes competing in leanness and non-leanness sports. Female athletes have more pathogenic weight concerns and weight-control behaviour than male |
Parks and Read, 1997 [42] | 14-18 (range) no mean given | males only | 74 | 74 | 0 | cross-country running, football | national | n/a | WC, WCB | Body Esteem Scale, Body Size Drawings, Eating Attitudes Test, Reason for Exercising Inventory | Athletes competing in leanness sports showed more pathogenic weight concerns and weight-control behaviour than athletes competing in non-leanness sports. |
Pietrowsky and Straub, 2008 [41] | rowers: 22.00 +/− 2.00 (heavyweight) and 22.06 +/− 2.89 (lightweight) handball: 28.25 +/− 3.91 | males only | 164 | 132 | 32 | rowing | national and international | non-athletes; engagement in recreational sports less than once a month; handball players from national team | WC, WCB | Silhouettes similar to the Body Image Assessment, Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire | Controls and athletes lightweight rowers had a more weight concerns if hungry, whereas heavyweight rowers and handball players showed more weight concerns in satiety. All athletes showed weight-control behaviour. |
non-athletes: 25.56 +/−4.47 (restraint eating group) and 28.00 +/− 4.29 (unrestraint eating group) | |||||||||||
Reinking and Alexander, 2005 [33] | athletes: 19.7 +/− 1.1 | females only | 146 | 84 | 62 | swimming, cross-country, basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball, field hockey | NCAA Division-I | undergraduate students; no further elaboration about their sports activities other than “not athletes in collegiate sports” | WC, WCB | EDI-2 | Controls showed more weight concerns and weight-control behaviour than athletes. Athletes competing in leanness sports showed more pathogenic weight concerns and weight-control behaviour. |
controls: 20.2 +/− 1.2 | |||||||||||
Rosendahl et al., 2009 [34] | 14-18 (range) no mean given | athletes: 366 male, 210 female controls: 122 male, 169 female | 867 | 576 | 291 | 26 different sports: technical, endurance, aesthetic, weight class, ball game, power, antigrav. sports | national and international | students from non-Elite Sports Schools; no further elaboration about their sports activities | WC, WCB | Eating Attitude Test, Silhouettes | Controls more often showed a history of weight-control behaviour than athletes, only significant in females. Athletes competing in leanness sports scored higher for weight control than athletes competing in non-leanness sports. Gender differences in intention. |
not specified according to gender | |||||||||||
Rouveix et al., 2007 [35] | athletes: 16.5 +/− 0.5 (male) and 17.2 +/− 1.1 (female) controls: 21.8 +/− 1.8 (male) and 20.2 +/− 3.0 (female) | athletes: 12 male, 12 female | 55 | 24 | 31 | judo | national | random sample with participants not training more than 3hrs/week | WC, WCB | Self-administered questionnaire, French version of Eating Attitudes Test, Body Esteem Scale | No significant difference between athletes and controls concerning weight concerns. Significant difference in weight-control behaviour. There was a gender difference in used methods and ideal body. |
Thiel et al., 1993 [45] | 21.1 +/− 2.4 | males only | 84 | 84 | 0 | rowing, wrestling | national | n/a | WC, WCB | Self-created questionnaire, EDI-2 | Athletes did not show pathogenic weight-control behaviour. |