Eating attitudes and taste responses in young ballerinas

Abstract

The Eating Attitude Test 40 (EAT 40) was administered to 23 ballerinas (mean age 18.3±0.9 years). The scores were high, as they are in anorexic patients. The EAT 40 revealed anorexic-like attitudes in dancers: selective food restrictions, severe dieting, constant preoccupations with food. However, dancers scored low at items screening bulimia, vomiting or laxative abuse. The dancers' perceptions and preferences for sweetness and fat food content were examined and compared to those of 14 sedentary controls. Taste stimuli were 20 semiliquid mixtures of soft-white cheese (0, 3 or 7 grams of fat per 100 grams) or heavy cream (30% fat), and sweetened with 1, 5, 10, 20 or 40% sucrose. The subjects used a 9-point category scale to rate the perceived sweetness, fat content, and hedonic value of the stimuli. There were no significant differences in the perceived sweetness intensity between groups, but the perception of fat appeared to be better in dancers, in particular in very sweet stimuli. Dancers showed a clear aversion for the fattest stimuli. In young female dancers, enhanced sensitivity for alimentary fats is associated with decreased preferred levels.