Specific dietary practices in female athletes and their association with positive screening for disordered eating

Abstract Background To determine if following specific diets was associated with reporting behaviors that are consistent disordered eating compared to non-diet-adherent athletes. We hypothesized athletes adhering were more likely report than those not a diet. Methods One thousand female (15–30 years) completed comprehensive survey about athletic health and wellness. Athletes asked specify their diet 3 disorder screening tools: the Brief Eating Disorder in Questionnaire, Screen for Primary Care, self-reported current or past history of eating. Descriptive statistics calculated all study measures chi-squared tests assessed relationships between athletes’ dietary practices responses tools. Statistical significance defined as p < 0.05. Results Two hundred thirty-four 1000 reported adherence diets. 69 234 diet-adhering (29.5%) excluded due medically-indicated vague descriptions. Of 165 diet-adherent athletes, 113 (68.5%) screened positively ≥1 Specifically, practicing low-carbohydrate vs. without restrictions (80% 41.8%; 0.0001). Conclusion Specific may be Health practitioners should consider further questioning order enhance nutritional knowledge help treat prevent disorders