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Disordered eating in French high-level athletes: association with type of sport, doping behavior, and psychological features

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Over the last few years, disordered eating in athletes has received increasing attention. According to several studies, athletes could be more vulnerable to disordered eating and some characteristics specific to the athletic community could be in favour of an increased risk of poor body image and disturbed eating habits in athletes. However, the literature is sparse and some methodological issues in studies have been pointed out. In this context, we aimed at determining the prevalence of disordered eating in French high-level athletes using clinical interviews of three different clinicians and identifying what are the factors associated with disordered eating in athletes.

Methods

In France, all athletes registered on the French high-level list have to undergo a yearly evaluation. Data collected during the somatic assessment, the dietary consultation, and the psychological of the yearly evaluation were used. Multivariate analysis was performed for identification of factors associated with disordered eating.

Results

Out of the 340 athletes included, 32.9% have been detected with a disordered eating. They were difficult to detect by clinicians, as usual criteria did not seem to be reliable for athletes. Competing in sports emphasizing leanness or low body weight was associated with disordered eating; however, gender was not.

Conclusion

These results highlight the need for the development of specific screening tools for high-level athletes. Furthermore, the identification of factors associated with disordered eating could improve early detection and prevention program effectiveness.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the French Health Ministry and the Foundation of France for providing financing.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Investigation Unit BALANCED “BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders”, Addictology and Psychiatry Department, Nantes University Hospital, Pavillon Louis PhilippeHôpital Saint Jacques, rue Saint Jacques, 85, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France

    M. Rousselet, B. Guérineau, S. Lambert, M. Grall-Bronnec & S. Prétagut

  2. EA 4275 SPHERE “BioStatistics, Pharmacoepidemiology and Human SciEnces Research tEam”Nantes University, 44000, Nantes, France

    M. Rousselet & M. Grall-Bronnec

  3. Medical Units of Prevention Doping of Pays de La Loire, Nantes University Hospital, 44000, Nantes, France

    B. Guérineau & S. Prétagut

  4. Regional Institute of Sport Medicine, Nantes University Hospital, 44093, Nantes, France

    M. C. Paruit, B. Destrube & V. Dubois

  5. Medical Units of Prevention Doping of Rhône-Alpes, Grenoble University Hospital, 38000, Grenoble, France

    M. Guinot, S. Ruffio-Thery & C. Mora

  6. Inserm U 1042, Hypoxy and Pathophysiology Lab, Grenoble University, 38000, Grenoble, France

    M. Guinot

  7. Medical Assesment Department, CREPS Bordeaux, 33300, Talence, France

    S. Lise

  8. Center for Support and Prevention of Athletes, Bordeaux University Hospital, 33000, Bordeaux Cedex, France

    N. Dominguez, S. Brisseau-Gimenez & S. Trolonge

  9. Medical Units of Prevention Doping of Aquitaine, Bordeaux University Hospital, 33000, Bordeaux Cedex, France

    N. Dominguez & S. Brisseau-Gimenez

Authors
  1. M. Rousselet
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  2. B. Guérineau
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  3. M. C. Paruit
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  5. S. Lise
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  7. S. Ruffio-Thery
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  8. N. Dominguez
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  9. S. Brisseau-Gimenez
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  10. V. Dubois
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  11. C. Mora
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  12. S. Trolonge
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  13. S. Lambert
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  14. M. Grall-Bronnec
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  15. S. Prétagut
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Rousselet.

Ethics declarations

Role of funding sources

Financial support for this study was provided by the French Health Ministry (DS/B2 N° 08-010) and the Foundation of France (UB:032137-N° Engt 2008006365). The funding sources had no involvement in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript or the decision to submit the paper for publication.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest associated with this research study.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the national ethics committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical measure.

Informed consent

All athletes declared that they were not opposed the study. Minors were able to declare their non-opposition through a legal representative. This study was approved by the Tours Ethics Committee.

Additional information

This article is part of the topical collection on Food addiction.

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Rousselet, M., Guérineau, B., Paruit, M.C. et al. Disordered eating in French high-level athletes: association with type of sport, doping behavior, and psychological features. Eat Weight Disord 22, 61–68 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-016-0342-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-016-0342-0

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