Female collegiate athletes: prevalence of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors.
OBJECTIVE
The authors assessed the prevalence of pathogenic eating and weight-control behaviors among female college athletes, using a psychometrically valid measure.


METHODS
Participants were 204 college athletes (M age=20.16 years, SD=1.31 years) from 17 sports at 3 universities. On average, they participated in their sport for 10.88 years (SD=16.68 years) and on their college team for 2.10 years (SD=1.03 years).


METHODS
Participants completed a demographic and weight background questionnaire, Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnoses, and the Bulimia Test-Revised.


RESULTS
The authors classified participants as eating disordered (n=4, 2.0%), symptomatic (n=52, 25.5%), and asymptomatic (n=148, 72.5%). Few participants engaged in binge eating; most used exercise, as opposed to vomiting, dieting, laxatives, or diuretics, to control their weight.


CONCLUSIONS
Female athletes suffer from eating disorders, and most experience symptom levels that are subclinical but problematic.
Greenleaf
Christy
C
Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreational Studies Department, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA. cgreenleaf@coe.unt.edu
Petrie
Trent A
TA
Carter
Jennifer
J
Reel
Justine J
JJ
D001835:Body Weight; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D011594:Psychometrics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013177:Sports / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014495:Universities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult