This study was designed to examine if mental skills and strategies such as high confidence, commitment, and the use of cooperative routines, as well as previously unexamined physical, social, and environmental factors affect Olympic performance. Athletes and coaches from 8 Atlanta US Olympic teams were interviewed. Four teams met/exceeded performance expectations and 4 teams failed to perform up to performance predictions. Focus group interviews were conducted with 2 to 4 athletes from each team. Individual interviews were conducted with 1 or 2 coaches from each team. Each interview was recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by three trained investigators using hierarchical content analyses. Differences existed between teams that met/exceeded performance expectations and teams that failed. Teams that met/exceeded expectations participated in resident training programs, experienced crowd and family or friend support, utilized mental preparation, and were highly focused and committed. Teams that failed to meet expectations experienced planning and team cohesion problems, lacked experience, faced travel problems, experienced coaching problems, and encountered problems related to focus and commitment. Results indicated that achievement of peak performance at the Olympic Games is a complex and delicate process influenced by a variety of psychological, physical, social, and organizational factors.

Adolescence represents a pivotal stage in the development of positive or negative body image. Many influences exist during the teen years including transitions (eg, puberty) that affect one’s body shape, weight status, and appearance. Weight status exists along a spectrum between being obese (ie, where one’s body weight is in the 95th percentile for age and gender) to being underweight. Salient influences on body image include the media, which can target adolescents, and peers who help shape beliefs about the perceived body ideal. Internalization of and pressures to conform to these socially prescribed body ideals help to explain associations between weight status and body image. The concepts of fat talk and weight-related bullying during adolescence greatly contribute to an overemphasis on body weight and appearance as well as the development of negative body perceptions and dissatisfaction surrounding specific body parts. This article provides an overview of the significance of adolescent development in shaping body image, the relationship between body image and adolescent weight status, and the consequences of having a negative body image during adolescence (ie, disordered eating, eating disorders, and dysfunctional exercise). Practical implications for promoting a healthy weight status and positive body image among adolescents will be discussed.

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Female athletes suffer from eating disorders, and most experience symptom levels that are subclinical but problematic.

Abstract. The purposes of this study were to examine (a) antifat attitudes among physical education teachers, (b) performance and ability expectations for normal and overweight youth, and (c) perceptions of the problem of youth obesity and the role of schools and physical education. Participants, 105 physical educators, completed a demographic and background questionnaire, the Antifat Attitudes Scale (AFAS; Morrison & O'Connor), an expectations questionnaire, and Perceptions of Youth Obesity and Physical Education Questionnaire (Price, Desmond, & Ruppert). Participants endorsed moderate antifat attitudes and strong personal weight control beliefs. Participants reported higher expectations for youth they considered normal weight, versus overweight, across a variety of performance and ability areas. Participants overwhelmingly agreed that youth obesity is a concern and that schools are not doing enough to help overweight youth.

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1 Christy Greenleaf 2Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) was used to examine (a) the mediation effects of body shame and flow on the relationship between self-objectification and disordered eating, (b) age differences in self-objectification, body shame, flow, and disordered eating, (c) the prediction of physical activity from self-objectification, flow, body shame, and disordered eating, and (d) the relationships between self-objectification, flow, and physical activity. Participants were 394 women ages 18-64. Results revealed that (a) body shame mediated the relationship between self-objectification and disordered eating, (b) younger women reported higher levels of self-objectification, body shame, dieting, and several flow characteristics, (c) older women scored higher on the loss of self-consciousness subscale of the flow measure, and (d) self-objectification was a significant predictor of physical activity.