Abstract
This study examined the weight pressures within the gymnastics environment and explored associations between these pressures and eating disorder (ED) symptoms in adolescent female gymnasts. One hundred and forty-seven competitive gymnasts and 122 recreational-level gymnasts (11–17 years old) completed the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Weight-Pressures in Sport-Females (WPS-F), the Social Desirability Scale (SDS) and provided information on their training. It was found that 16.3% of competitive gymnasts and 7.4% of non-competitive gymnasts scored ≥20 in EAT-26, indicating disordered eating behavior. Competitive gymnasts scored higher than non-competitive in the total score of EAT-26 (p = 0.027), as well as in the total score of WPS-F, the sport and coaches weight pressures sub-scale and the appearance and performance weight pressures sub-scale (p < 0.001). Multiple regression analyses indicated that sport and coaches weight pressures, appearance and performance weight pressures and body mass index accounted for 30.3% of the variance of EAT-26 in competitive gymnasts, while the appearance and performance weight pressures sub-scale accounted for 16.3% of the variance of EAT-26 in non-competitive gymnasts. Sport and coaches weight pressures are associated with ED in competitive gymnasts, while body appearance and performance demands correlate with ED in female gymnasts irrespective of competitive level.
Highlights
Gymnastics sports are popular among female adolescents and include seven different disciplines: Artistic Gymnastics, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Trampoline, Tumbling, Acrobatic Gymnastics, Aerobic Gymnastics and Gymnastics for All [1,2]
Two athletes were excluded because a nutrition-related problem was reported by their parents
Weight pressures that come from the nature of the sport and from the coaches, along with the pressures that are related to appearance, performance and Body Mass Index (BMI) contribute to the risk of eating disorder (ED)
Summary
Gymnastics sports are popular among female adolescents and include seven different disciplines: Artistic Gymnastics, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Trampoline, Tumbling, Acrobatic Gymnastics, Aerobic Gymnastics and Gymnastics for All [1,2]. Low body weight and especially low fat mass, combined with muscle strength and power, are considered beneficial for technique because they increase the power-to-weight ratio. This is critical for optimal gymnastics performance since athletes must rapidly transfer their body mass across space while overcoming gravitational resistance [3,5,6]. Research in gymnastics sports has demonstrated that short stature, low body mass and low body fat are characteristics of elite female artistic gymnasts and that low body weight, low body fat, and higher than average height are characteristics of elite rhythmic gymnasts [3,5,10,11]. Low body weight and fat mass are important for gymnastics performance irrespective of the discipline
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