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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Eating Behavior
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1423772

Dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors among French Elite athletes: The impact of psychological characteristics and the sporting calendar

Provisionally accepted
Amandine Daubresse Amandine Daubresse 1*Alice Meignié Alice Meignié 2Juliana Antero Juliana Antero 2Christine Hanon Christine Hanon 3Stéphanie SCOFFIER-MERIAUX Stéphanie SCOFFIER-MERIAUX 1
  • 1 Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
  • 2 EA7329 Institut de Recherche BioMédical et d'Epidémiologie du Sport (IRMES), Paris, France
  • 3 EA7370 Laboratoire Sport, Expertise et Performance, Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance, Paris, France

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Research on sport psychology suggests that athletes are at risk of developing dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors (DEAB), however the origins of these behaviors remain largely unexplored. The present study aims to identify factors (i.e., personality traits, anxiety levels, eating attitudes and behaviors, the internalization of sport thinness norms, and resilience) associated with the development of DEAB among female endurance athletes, in training and competition.Method: A longitudinal follow-up study was conducted among 14 elite female athletes who were tested daily, weekly, and quarterly over 12 months in 2022, for a total of 545 measures. Participants completed questionnaires assessing personality traits, anxiety levels, eating attitudes and behaviors, the internalization of sport thinness norms, and resilience. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all study data, and odds ratios were conducted to compare the variance of psychological factors and sporting factors depending on the level of DEAB and the sport period. Significance was set at p < 0.05.Results: Overall, 28% of our sample of athletes were identified with DEAB. Among those with DEAB, scores for agreeableness, anxiety, and competitive anxiety were significantly higher, while scores for resilience were significantly lower than those without DEAB. During the competitive season, scores for self-regulatory eating attitudes and the internalization of thinness norms were significantly higher than during the training period. Conclusion: Our results suggest a greater probability of DEAB among athletes who exhibit the trait of agreeableness, experience anxiety during competition, and lack resilience. The competitive season was also identified as a period conducive for developing DEAB compared with the training period. Based on these results our study suggests preventive measures that can be implemented with athletes displaying these traits, with a particular emphasis during the competitive phase.

    Keywords: female endurance athletes, Competitive Sport, eating behaviors, personality traits, resilience

    Received: 26 Apr 2024; Accepted: 02 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Daubresse, Meignié, Antero, Hanon and SCOFFIER-MERIAUX. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Amandine Daubresse, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.