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Association between body shape, body mass index, and eating disorders among athletics’ and non-athletics’ female students
Since a variety of factors can influence the development of eating disorders, this 2021 study looked at possible differences in perception between athletic and non-athletic female students. Salem & Bayomi specifically looked at the young students’ perceptions of body image, body mass index, and eating disorders. The “athletic” girls were students from the faculty of physical education for girls. These athletic students obtained higher scores in the eating attitude test, signifying moderate to severe body shape dissatisfaction. These same students were also found to be significantly different to non-athletic students in terms of not only actual body size but also perceived body image. These results showcased that athletic female students were more likely to be dissatisfied with their body image, and develop eating disorders when compared with non-athletic female students. Extra studies are needed to further examine this eating disorder risk among athletic female students to stop this problem from growing. Athletic departments are advised to examine their students for eating disorders to detect risk at an early stage. [NPID: body shape, eating disorders, athletes, athletic female students, disordered eating, body image, perception]
Year: 2021
