title: Prevalence and sport-related predictors of disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors: Moderating effects of sex and age.
abstract: Very few studies examined the prevalence and sport-related predictors of disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors (DEABs) among adolescents involved in sport practice, and their results are mixed and inconclusive. These inconsistencies are most likely due to their methodological heterogeneity and to the fact that none of these studies took into consideration the potentially relevant characteristics of the sport practice context. This study attempts to answer this limitation among French adolescents not involved or involved in various sports contexts defined based on their organization, leanness-centration, and competitive level. Participants were 335 adolescents involved in sport practice, and 435 adolescents not involved in any form of regular sport practice. The DEABs were measured using the Eating Attitudes Test-26. Global results do not showed any significant association between the status of the participants and DEAB. However, these results drastically changed when we considered the potential moderating role of sex and age on these relations. Indeed, sports involvement in general, and involvement in leanness and competitive sports were found to exert sex- and age-differentiated effects on the risks of presenting clinically significant levels of DEAB. This study suggests the importance of monitoring, preventive, and early intervention mechanisms within the context of practice, particularly for adolescent girls.
authors: UMR 7287 "Institute of Movement Sciences, Etienne-Jules Marey,", Aix-Marseille Univ and CNRS, Marseille, France.|Direction Régionale de la Jeunesse, des Sports et de la Cohésion Sociale, - Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Marseille, France.
authors: M-C
authors: MC
authors: Lanfranchi
authors: Cyberpsychology Laboratory, Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), Hull, Quebec, Canada.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Maïano
authors: Centre for Positive Psychology and Education, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors: A J S
authors: AJ
authors: Morin
authors: UMR 7287 "Institute of Movement Sciences, Etienne-Jules Marey,", Aix-Marseille Univ and CNRS, Marseille, France.
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Therme
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D056352:Athletes / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D005239:Fear; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006167:Guilt; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000067074:Peer Influence; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology*; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology
keywords: competition level; eating-related control and guilt; fear of getting fat; food preoccupation; leanness; social pressure to gain weight; sport modality and context; vomiting-purging behavior