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Cited by 96Eating Disorders and BehaviorsNutrition, Health and Food BehaviorChild Nutrition and Feeding Issues

Prevention of eating disorders in female athletes

Open access
Coelho, Gabriela, de Abreu Soares, Eliane, Innocencio da Silva Gomes, Aina, Goncalves Ribeiro, Beatriz·2014·Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine
DOI 10.2147/oajsm.s36528PMC PMC4026548
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Abstract

Eating disorders are serious mental diseases that frequently appear in female athletes. They are abnormal eating behaviors that can be diagnosed only by strict criteria. Disordered eating, although also characterized as abnormal eating behavior, does not include all the criteria for diagnosing eating disorders and is therefore a way to recognize the problem in its early stages. It is important to identify factors to avoid clinical progression in this high-risk population. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to discuss critical information for the prevention of eating disorders in female athletes. This review discusses the major correlates for the development of an eating disorder. We also discuss which athletes are possibly at highest risk for eating disorders, including those from lean sports and female adolescent athletes. There is an urgent need for the demystification of myths surrounding body weight and performance in sports. This review includes studies that tested different prevention programs' effectiveness, and the majority showed positive results. Educational programs are the best method for primary prevention of eating disorders. For secondary prevention, early identification is essential and should be performed by preparticipation exams, the recognition of dietary markers, and the use of validated self-report questionnaires or clinical interviews. In addition, more randomized clinical trials are needed with athletes from multiple sports in order for the most reliable recommendations to be made and for some sporting regulations to be changed.

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  • Short-term education programmes have been shown to improve nutritional knowledge and reduce signs of dieting and body image concerns in female and male athletes.

    “Short-term education programmes, using various delivery methods and focusing on factors associated with EDs, DE behaviours, and REDs have been shown to improve nutritional knowledge and reduce signs of dieting and body image concerns in female and male athletes.70 152-158”

    From 2023 international olympic committee's (IOC) consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs) (2023) · cites this paper as [157]

    The Prevention strategies section reports that several interventions used different methods, that the ATHENA programme lasted eight weeks, and that studies generally found positive results concerning female athletes’ intentions. It does not establish the claimed improvements in nutritional knowledge or reductions in dieting signs and body-image concerns, and it does not report those intervention outcomes for male athletes. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Research works printed but not linked: 35

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Coelho, G., de Abreu Soares, E., Innocencio da Silva Gomes, A., & Goncalves Ribeiro, B.
Affiliations
Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
ORCID
Coelho, Gabriela
Venue
Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2014-05
Volume
5
Pages
105
ISSN
1179-1543 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2147/oajsm.s36528
PMC
PMC4026548
OpenAlex
W2097203927
Cited by
96
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 1
FWCI
0.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Dove Medical Press (Taylor and Francis Group) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
Keywords
eating disorders, female athletes, disordered eating, prevention programs, risk factors, youth athletes, dietary biomarkers, early detection, primary prevention, secondary prevention, sports regulation

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