ENGLISH

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: Eating disorders are a growing problem in our society, especially among young people. The aim of this study is to know which are the individual and social factors that support and perpetuate the danger of suffering from eating disorders, and their possible consequences on the sports and academic performance of individuals. Material and method: The sample consisted of 395 athletes between 12 and 16 years of age (M = 14.07; SD = 1.35), of whom 142 (35.9%) were female and 253 (64.1%) male. A questionnaire was administered to collect information on sociodemographic data, body image, use of social networks, social relationships, sports practice, risk of eating disorders, and academic and sports performance. In the analysis, firstly, cross-tabulations were carried out to observe the body distortion of the respondents according to body mass index; secondly, a linear regression was performed to analyze the factors influencing the risk of eating disorders. In addition, correlations were performed to find out the relationship between risk of manifesting eating disorders and academic and sports performance. Results: The main result shows that there is a high risk of eating disorders among young athletes, due to a high distortion of body image, which becomes the main determinant factor. In addition, relationships with family and friends have a significant influence on this danger. On the other hand, behaviors related to eating disorders cause academic and sports performance to decrease. Conclusión: Due to these data, it is necessary to generate and promote prevention and early detection guidelines during adolescence.