Eating Disorder Prevalence and Symptoms for Track and Field Athletes and Nonathletes

Abstract

The general purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and symptoms of eating disorders (ED) for 412 high school, university, and elite male and female track and field athletes and higher- and lower-active nonathletes. Participants completed the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (Garner, 1991) to assess ED symptoms and the Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnosis (Mintz, O'Holloran, Mulholland, & Schneider, 1997) to assess ED prevalence. We found that: (a) the women had greater Drive for Thinness and Body Dissatisfaction symptoms and a higher prevalence of ED than the men, (b) nonathletes reported greater Body Dissatisfaction symptoms than the athletes, (c) higher-active nonathletes had a higher prevalence of ED than the athletes and lower-active nonathletes, (d) the high school athletes had greater Ineffectiveness and Maturity Fears symptoms than the college and elite athletes, and e) there were no sport-group differences (i.e., middle/long distance, sprint, and field) for either ED symptoms or prevalence. Implications of these results and future directions are discussed.