Exercise commitment and proneness to eating disorders in a group of physical education teachers.
The study examined the association of exercise commitment with proneness to eating disorders in 50 physical education teachers who had been practicing various aerobic sports at least three times a week for at least 5 years. Significant coefficients were found between Commitment to Exercise Scale scores, the number of weekly training sessions, and scores on the Eating Disorders Inventory-2 scales measuring Maturity Fears, Social Insecurity, Perfectionism, and Asceticism. However, no relationship was found between the Commitment to Exercise Scale and the Eating Disorders Inventory-2 variables measuring anorexic tendencies (such as Drive for Thinness, Body Dissatisfaction, and Bulimia). Findings suggest the presence of some psychological factors common to both anorexic tendencies and excessive exercising but not complete overlap, so a rather more complex pattern of relationships appears to be mediated by sex and personality characteristics.
Dipartimento di Filosofia, Università di Pisa, Piazza Torricelli 3/a, 56126 Pisa, Italia. mau.pini@tiscali.it
Mauro
M
Pini
Elena
E
Calamari
Antonio
A
Puleggio
Michela
M
Pullerà
D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D004038:Diet, Reducing / Q000523:psychology; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010555:Personality Inventory; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D012737:Sex Factors; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology