Coach-athlete relationships and weight controlling behaviour in young athletes: perspectives from Norwegian athletes and coaches in sport climbing

Abstract

ABSTRACT In sports where low body weight is considered a competitive advantage, athletes are at high risk of developing disordered eating (DE) and eating disorders (ED). Previous studies have found that coach-athlete interactions can prevent or trigger such health issues. As knowledge about how coaches and coach-athlete relationships influence young athletes’ weight controlling behaviour and disordered eating is limited, we conducted qualitative interviews with coaches and athletes in sport climbing to explore these issues further. Our findings suggest that issues related to body weight regulation and performance are often silenced by coaches and athletes, indicating that DE and ED may be blind spots in coach-athlete interactions. Furthermore, most of the interviewed coaches did not consider it their responsibility to address disordered eating and weight-related issues in their athletes. Drawing on relational leadership theory, our analysis demonstrates how mature coach-athlete relationships characterised by trust and open conversations about weight controlling behaviour can be important tools in the prevention of DE and ED in young athletes.