Maladaptive eating attitudes of élite and amateur Turkish dancers: Are they at risk?

Abstract

The aims of this study were to investigate whether Turkish dancers are at risk of eating disorders, and to identify any gender and elite vs. amateur differences. The study involved 100 participants (64 females and 36 males) divided into three groups: 6lite dancers, amateur dancers and controls. The elite dancers were the members of the State Conservatoire; the amateur dancers were university students attending university dance clubs; the control group consisted of university students who were not members of dance clubs. All of the participants completed the Eating Attitude Test and a questionnaire about eating habits. Both the elite and amateur dancers had more pathological eating attitudes than the controls. Females had more problematic eating attitudes than males. Both elite and amateur female Turkish dancers may be at risk for disordered eating. The implications for prevention are discussed.

Prevalence of Eating Disorders amongst Dancers: A Systemic Review and Meta‐Analysis

“…Twelve (36.4%) studies were from North America: one from Canada (Piran, ) and 11 from the USA. Of the remaining papers, three (9.1%) were Australian (Abraham, ; Anshel, ; Penniment & Egan, ), two (6.1%) were Brazilian (Nascimento & Fontenelle, ; Ribeiro & da Veiga, ), one was Taiwanese (Tseng et al, ), one was Turkish (Batur et al, ) and one was South African (Le Grange, Tibbs, & Noakes, ). Twelve (36.4%) studies involved professional dancers only: 10 (30.3%) ballet dancers and two (6.1%) general dancers.…”

“…The oldest study was from 1985 (Szmukler, Eisler, Gillies, & Hayward, 1985) and the most recent one from 2012 (Nascimento & Fontenelle, 2012). Twenty-three (69.7%) papers included exclusively ballet dancers, nine (27.3%) included general dancers and one (3%) Turkish dancers (Batur, Kabakci, & Gulol, 2003). Only five papers (16.1%) included men.…”

Mental health in dance: A scoping review

“…So far, these debilitative personal qualities seem inextricably linked to an unrelenting environment that appears to enable peers and teachers to influence dancers’ body image, eating attitudes, and overall ideals, which in turn hamper dancers’ development and well-being ( Critien and Ollis, 2006 ; Lacaille et al, 2007 ; Harper, 2012 ; Stanway et al, 2020 ; Haraldsen et al, 2021a ). Several of the studies offer valuable advice how to address and change debilitative aspects of the particular cultural features of the dance environment ( Bonbright, 1995 ; Mainwaring et al, 2001 ; Batur et al, 2003 ; van Staden et al, 2009 ; Schluger, 2010 ). However, to date almost none of these plans have been put into action and tested for viability and effect.…”