Prevalence of Subclinical Eating Disorders in Collegiate Female Athletes

This study is an examination of eating behaviors and body image concerns among 587 female collegiate athletes from nine colleges/universities representing 14 different sports. Measures included the Eating Disorders Inventory-2 (EDI-2), the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), and a questionnaire gathering general demographic information, reasons for dieting and/or using other methods of weight control, as well as information about expressed concerns from others regarding the respondents weight. Three sport groups were hypothesized to be at increased risk: athletes whose performance is subjectively scored; athletes who compete in a sport where a low body weight is considered advantageous; and athletes who must wear body conrevealing clothing. Chi-Square and Logistic Regression analyses revealed no association between these sport groups and the presence of a subclinical eating disorder (SED). Additional analyses determined no statistical association between student-athletes competing at the National Collegiate A...