Table 1.
Overview of all studies included in the review
| Author | Age in years(mean, SD) | Gender | Sample size total | Sample size athletes | Sample size controls | Sports type | Competition level | Controls | Outcome | Instruments | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson et al., 2011 [18] |
19.14 +/− 1.86 |
females only |
414 |
414 |
0 |
gymnastics, swimming/ diving |
NCAA Division-I |
n/a |
WC, WCB |
Body Parts Satisfaction Scale, Dietary Intent Scale |
No significant difference between athletes competing in leanness and non-leanness sports. |
| Arroyo et al., 2008 [30] |
19.6 +/− 1.3 |
males only |
56 |
28 |
28 |
soccer |
Professional soccer team |
age- and BMI-matched students; engagement in recreational sports <3hrs/week |
WC |
Somatomorphic matrix test |
No significant difference between athletes and controls |
| Artioli et al., 2010 [4] |
19.3 +/− 5.3 not specified according to gender |
607 male, 215 female |
822 |
822 |
0 |
judo |
national and international |
n/a |
WCB |
Rapid Weight Loss Questionnaire |
Athletes were engaged in several forms of pathogenic weight control behaviour. No gender differences could be found. An earlier start of using weight-control methods leads to more aggressive variants. |
| Ferrand et al., 2005 [32] |
athletes: 15.4 +/− 1.2 (swimmers) and 16.5 +/− 0.93 (rest) controls: 16.3 +/− 1.1 |
not specified; only the swimmers included males |
132 |
82 |
50 |
synchron. swimming, non-leanness sports (basketball, handball, soccer, volleyball) |
national |
non-athlete college students; no further elaboration about their sports activities |
WC, WCB |
Canadian-French version of Body-Esteem Scale, French version of Eating Attitudes Test |
Athletes showed more weight concerns but not more weight-control behaviour than controls. No significant difference between athletes competing in leanness and non-leanness sports. |
| Galli et al., 2009 [47] |
23 +/− 0.68 |
males only |
10 |
10 |
0 |
baseball, diving, football, golf, lacrosse, skiing, swimming |
national and international |
n/a |
WC, WCB |
Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews |
Athletes did show some weight concerns. |
| Greenleaf et al., 2009 [19] |
20.16 +/− 1.31 |
females only |
204 |
204 |
0 |
basketball, cheerleading cross-country, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, rowing, skiing, soccer, softb., swimming, synchron. swimming, tennis, track&field, volleyball |
NCAA Division-I |
n/a |
WCB |
Adapted version of Questionnaire of Eating Disorder Diagnosis, Bulimia Test-Revised |
No significant difference between athletes competing in leanness and non-leanness sports. |
| Johnson et al., 1999 [44] |
19.9 20.1 (male), 19.6 (female); no SD given |
883 male, 562 female |
1445 |
1445 |
0 |
basketball, tennis, cross-country, football, gymnastics, nordic skiing, swimming, volleyball, wrestling |
NCAA Division-I |
n/a |
WC, WCB |
Self-created questionnaire including subscales from EDI-2, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Body Cathexis Scale |
No significant difference between athletes competing in leanness and non-leanness sports. Female athletes have more pathogenic weight concerns and weight-control behaviour than male ones. |
| Marshall et al., 1996 [31] |
20.8 +/− 3.8 (juniors 17.1 +/−0.9 and seniors 22.5 +/− 3.2) |
not specified |
111 |
111 |
0 |
field hockey |
national and international |
n/a |
WC, WCB |
EDI |
Athletes did show weight concerns. No difference in pathogenic weight concerns and weight-control behaviour in connection with age. |
| Martinsen et al., 2010 [13] |
15-16 (range) no mean given not specified according to gender |
athletes: 389 male, 217 female controls: 197 male, 158 female |
961 |
606 |
355 |
50 different sports types, classified into leanness and non-leanness sports |
students at elite sport schools, no further elaboration of competition level |
age-matched 1st year high school students; no further elaboration about their sports activities |
WC, WCB |
EDI-2 |
Controls used pathogenic weight-control behaviour significantly more often than athletes. Different reasons for weight control. No significant difference between athletes competing in leanness and non-leanness sports. Female athletes have more pathogenic weight concerns and weight-control behaviour than male |
| Parks and Read, 1997 [42] |
14-18 (range) no mean given |
males only |
74 |
74 |
0 |
cross-country running, football |
national |
n/a |
WC, WCB |
Body Esteem Scale, Body Size Drawings, Eating Attitudes Test, Reason for Exercising Inventory |
Athletes competing in leanness sports showed more pathogenic weight concerns and weight-control behaviour than athletes competing in non-leanness sports. |
| Pietrowsky and Straub, 2008 [41] |
rowers: 22.00 +/− 2.00 (heavyweight) and 22.06 +/− 2.89 (lightweight) handball: 28.25 +/− 3.91 |
males only |
164 |
132 |
32 |
rowing |
national and international |
non-athletes; engagement in recreational sports less than once a month; handball players from national team |
WC, WCB |
Silhouettes similar to the Body Image Assessment, Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire |
Controls and athletes lightweight rowers had a more weight concerns if hungry, whereas heavyweight rowers and handball players showed more weight concerns in satiety. All athletes showed weight-control behaviour. |
| non-athletes: 25.56 +/−4.47 (restraint eating group) and 28.00 +/− 4.29 (unrestraint eating group) | |||||||||||
| Reinking and Alexander, 2005 [33] |
athletes: 19.7 +/− 1.1 |
females only |
146 |
84 |
62 |
swimming, cross-country, basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball, field hockey |
NCAA Division-I |
undergraduate students; no further elaboration about their sports activities other than “not athletes in collegiate sports” |
WC, WCB |
EDI-2 |
Controls showed more weight concerns and weight-control behaviour than athletes. Athletes competing in leanness sports showed more pathogenic weight concerns and weight-control behaviour. |
| controls: 20.2 +/− 1.2 | |||||||||||
| Rosendahl et al., 2009 [34] |
14-18 (range) no mean given |
athletes: 366 male, 210 female controls: 122 male, 169 female |
867 |
576 |
291 |
26 different sports: technical, endurance, aesthetic, weight class, ball game, power, antigrav. sports |
national and international |
students from non-Elite Sports Schools; no further elaboration about their sports activities |
WC, WCB |
Eating Attitude Test, Silhouettes |
Controls more often showed a history of weight-control behaviour than athletes, only significant in females. Athletes competing in leanness sports scored higher for weight control than athletes competing in non-leanness sports. Gender differences in intention. |
| not specified according to gender | |||||||||||
| Rouveix et al., 2007 [35] |
athletes: 16.5 +/− 0.5 (male) and 17.2 +/− 1.1 (female) controls: 21.8 +/− 1.8 (male) and 20.2 +/− 3.0 (female) |
athletes: 12 male, 12 female |
55 |
24 |
31 |
judo |
national |
random sample with participants not training more than 3hrs/week |
WC, WCB |
Self-administered questionnaire, French version of Eating Attitudes Test, Body Esteem Scale |
No significant difference between athletes and controls concerning weight concerns. Significant difference in weight-control behaviour. There was a gender difference in used methods and ideal body. |
| | |||||||||||
| controls: 17 male, 14 female | |||||||||||
| Thiel et al., 1993 [45] | 21.1 +/− 2.4 | males only | 84 | 84 | 0 | rowing, wrestling | national | n/a | WC, WCB | Self-created questionnaire, EDI-2 | Athletes did not show pathogenic weight-control behaviour. |
WC = weight concerns, WCB = weight-control behaviour.