Body-Esteem, Body Mass Index, and Risk for Disordered Eating among Adolescents in Synchronized Swimming

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine dimensions of body-esteem, Body Mass Index, and their relations with eating disorder symptoms among 42 elite adolescent athletes engaged in competitive synchronized swimming ( M = 15.4 yr., SD = 1.2) and to compare them with 40 athletes in sports with no emphasis on leanness ( M = 16.5 yr., SD = .93), and 50 nonathlete college female students ( M = 16.3 yr., SD = 1.1). They completed the Body-esteem Scale and the Eating Attitudes Test, and the Body Mass Index was computed. Analysis showed synchronized swimmers reported greater negative feelings about their appearance than the two other groups and low perceptions of how others evaluate their physical appearance. Participants did not differ on the EAT-26. Regression analyses showed that Body Mass Index and Body-esteem Appearance accounted for 38% of the variance in log-transformed Dieting scores of synchronized swimmers. Results are discussed in relation to the literature.