Abstract
Eating disorders (EDs) and disordered eating behaviors are common among athletes, more common in female athletes than males. Certain sports disciplines put athletes at more risk than others. Special attention should be given to the athletes of aesthetic sports, endurance sports, and weight category sports in terms of the risk of EDs. However, these risk factors should not result in creating a stereotype of “the athlete with ED” as such stereotyping may lead to an overlooked diagnosis of EDs in different athletes. In fact, male athletes have a higher rate of EDs than general population. Particular personality traits are common between EDs’ patients and athletes. This intersection certainly creates a difficulty in identifying athletes that are especially at risk due to their personality characteristics, but this challenging situation also holds promising possibilities for treatment. Unhealthy weight management strategies are often observed among athletes. Comprehending the systemic effects of energy deficiency in sports is crucial for a multifaceted understanding of ED in athletes. Health-care professionals’ awareness and knowledge on EDs in the athletic population and specific tools for screening may help in preventing irreversible consequences.
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Abbreviations
- AN:
-
Anorexia nervosa
- BED:
-
Binge eating disorder
- BN:
-
Bulimia nervosa
- CHRIS-73:
-
The College Health-Related Information Survey
- ED:
-
Eating disorder
- FAST:
-
The Female Athlete Screening Tool
- LEAF-Q:
-
The Low Energy Availability in Females Questionnaire
- ON:
-
Orthorexia nervosa
- RED-S:
-
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport
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Yargic, M.P., Ozdengul, F. (2022). Eating Disorders in Athletes. In: Patel, V., Preedy, V. (eds) Eating Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67929-3_8-1
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