Subclinical eating disorders in male athletes. A study of the low weight category in rowers and wrestlers.
This study investigated the possibility that male athletes who, owing to the rules of their sport, are pressured to maintain a low weight show an elevated prevalence of subclinical eating disorders. Twenty-five wrestlers and 59 rowers in the lower weight categories were investigated using the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). Fifty-two percent of the athletes reported the occurrence of binging. The EDI profiles of 11% of the athletes suggested the presence of a subclinical eating disorder. These figures are clearly elevated compared with the normal male population. Low-weight wrestlers and rowers should be considered a high-risk male population for subclinical eating disorders. These findings are comparable to high-risk groups consisting mainly of women (such as ballet and modelling students). The causal relationship between the specific sport and the development of a psychogenic eating disorder is discussed.
Thiel
A
A
Department of Psychiatry, University of Göttingen, Germany.
Gottfried
H
H
Hesse
F W
FW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011581:Psychological Tests; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology*; D014952:Wrestling / Q000523:psychology*