Risk of developing eating disorders through the misperception of the body image and the adoption of bad eating habits in a sample of young volleyball athletes

Abstract

Objective: This preliminary study focused on the description of some dysfunctional perceptions of the body image and eating habits in a sample of young. Methods: The results obtained by 55 amateur and professional volleyball players belonging to volleyball sports clubs located in the province of Reggio Emilia were examined. The age of the sample is in a range between 11 and 44 years. The participants completed the Pisa Survey for Eating Disorders (PSED), a questionnaire aimed at examining eating behavior and the perception of one’s body image. The athletes’ height and body weight were subsequently detected through direct measurement. Conclusion: The data collected through the self-evaluation questionnaire and the measurements carried out by the study made it possible to analyze the perception of the body image and the eating habits of the volleyball players belonging to the sample and to compare them with the data in the literature. The data, albeit preliminary, allow us to confirm the existence of the discrepancy between the real body image and the desired one, in a group of young athletes, who favors the adoption of non-adaptive coping strategies to control one’s own weight and body shapes typical of the vicious circle - strict diet, bingeing episodes, compensatory behaviors - which characterizes eating disorders (ED). It is therefore considered essential that body image assessment is a practice implemented in the assessment routine of these athletes, especially in consideration of the fact that body image disturbance is a very common feature in this category and is one of the main risk factors of EDs.

The Risk of Eating Disorders in Adolescent Athletes: How We Might Address This Phenomenon?

“…Studies have shown that the level of competition and training experience are related to the development of eating disorders in athletes [ 75 , 76 ]. Competing at the international level generates higher level standards in athletes, so this has been determined as a high-risk factor for presenting with eating disorder symptoms with the frequency [ 77 , 78 , 79 ] due to the sports and expectative requirements.…”

Eating disorder risk in adolescent and adult female athletes: the role of body satisfaction, sport type, BMI, level of competition, and training background

“…For example, Beals and Manore [ 15 ] found lower body satisfaction and eating disorder symptoms among 75% of participants who participated in endurance sports. Fochesato et al [ 12 ] also reported lower body satisfaction (30% of participants) and eating disorder behaviors (16% of participants) in a cohort of female athletes in volleyball sports clubs.…”

“…It should be noted that there are also sports, such as technical, power, and ball sports [ 7 ], which promote different body ideals and are not lean body oriented. However, in some studies, disordered eating and eating disorders were also found among athletes of non-lean disciplines [ 7 , 12 ]. Originally, studies investigating eating disorders among athletes focused mainly on the aesthetic and non-aesthetic division.…”

“…In examining athletes, researchers found significant negative relationships between eating disorders and body image [ 3 , 4 , 12 ]. De Oliviera et al [ 14 ] verified that most athletes in various sports were dissatisfied with their body image.…”

“…Some studies have shown that the level of competition and training experience are related to the development of eating disorders in athletes [ 5 , 27 ]. Fochesato et al [ 12 ] found that the occurrence of eating disorders was correlated to the level at which athletes compete, with elite athletes determined to be the highest risk group. Similarly, Werner et al [ 30 ] reported that higher-level competitive athletes show eating disorder symptoms more often than lower-level and recreational athletes.…”