Abstract
This cross-sectional study examined the impact of adherence to Mediterranean diet on burnout syndrome risk in 94 athletes 8–15 years old. Diet pattern and burnout syndrome risk were assessed through the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire and the KIDMED Questionnaire. 55.3% of girls and 16.1% of boys had a high risk of burnout syndrome and the risk increased with age. Of the 78.7% with low adherence to Mediterranean diet, 31.1% showed no risk of burnout syndrome, 33.8% had a moderate risk, and 35.1% high risk. Of the 21.3% with a high adherence to Mediterranean diet, 35% had no risk of burnout syndrome, 45% had a moderate risk, and 20% had a high risk. Participants with moderate/high burnout syndrome risk were more likely to be girls and spend a higher number of hours watching television or playing video games. There is not enough statistical evidence in this study to reject the independence between the level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the risk of burnout syndrome in children, except in the case of daily consumption of fresh or cooked vegetables.
Highlights
In the last few decades, the physical, psychological and psychosocial benefits of sports have been established beyond doubt [1,2,3,4,5]
This analysis revealed that the risks of the girls shifted towards the extremes, with a lower proportion of girls being lower risk, and higher proportion being high risk when compared to their male peers
There is not enough statistical evidence in this study to reject the independence between the level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the risk of burnout syndrome (BS) in children, except in the case of daily consumption of fresh or cooked vegetables
Summary
In the last few decades, the physical, psychological and psychosocial benefits of sports have been established beyond doubt [1,2,3,4,5]. Activity-related stress, whose associated factors are classified in two general categories—activity demands (physical, psychological, social or organizational aspects of the activity requiring sustained physical/psychological effort or skills and associated with certain physiological/psychological costs) and activity resources (functional in achieving work goals, reducing activity demands and the associated costs, stimulating personal growth, learning and development)—can play a role in the risk of developing burnout syndrome (BS) [7,8,9] Certain personality traits such as a high degree of empathy, high degree of altruism, low self-esteem, constancy in action, tendency to emotional over-involvement, locus of external control, unrealistic expectations about work, low self-efficacy, and reduced social skills [10,11,12], as well as an excessive concern for body. Public Health 2020, 17, 929; doi:10.3390/ijerph17030929 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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