Risk for eating disorders and body composition among adolescent female and male athletes and non-athlete controls

Abstract

AbstractPurposeThe objective of this research was to investigate the risk for eating disorders (EDs) and compare body composition in participants with and without risk in adolescent Slovenian athletes and aged matched controls.MethodsA total of 583 randomly selected adolescents, aged from 15 to 17 years, completed a sick, control, one stone, fat, food (SCOFF) questionnaire for detecting risk for EDs. Weight and body composition were measured using a bioelectrical impedance machine. Based on the data body mass index (BMI), percentiles were calculated.ResultsOverall, 37.7% of athletes and 39.8% of controls were classified as at risk for EDs. Girls showed a significantly higher frequency of risk than boys, 1:3.5. A higher percentage of underweight boys was found in control group compared to the athletes, but the difference was not significant in the subsample of girls. Differences in body composition show that the at-risk group had significantly higher values in BMI percentiles (p < 0.001) and percentages of fat mass (p < 0.001) and lower values in percentage of muscle mass (p < 0.01) and fat-free mass.ConclusionsThese finding demonstrate that the gap in risk for EDs between males and females is becoming smaller and stresses to consider specific parameters of body composition as being important when identifying at-risk groups for EDs.