Anorexic Readiness Syndrome in Elite Female Acrobatic Gymnasts—International Study

Ewa Polak (), Adrianna Gardzińska and Maria Zadarko-Domaradzka
Additional contact information
Ewa Polak: Academic Sports Centre, Rzeszow University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland
Adrianna Gardzińska: Academic Sports Centre, Rzeszow University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland
Maria Zadarko-Domaradzka: Institute of Physical Culture Sciences, Medical College, Rzeszow University, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-19

Abstract: Anorexic Readiness Syndrome (ARS) is a concept used in research for the early detection of disordered eating (DE). It is a set of indicators located primarily within the cognitive and behavioral sphere of an individual’s functioning. The aim of this study was to examine whether among the elite acrobats there are girls showing a high level of anorexic tendency, and if so, what behaviors and attitudes are the most common. In addition, an attempt to determine what sport-related factors or other non-sport variables may increase the risk of ARS was conducted. The study group was made up of 133 acrobatic gymnasts aged 10–19, representing six countries that participated in the Acro World Cup competition held in Poland. The study procedures included surveys (personal questionnaire and the Eating Attitudes Questionnaire), anthropometric measurements such as weight, height, waist circumference (WC) and determination of the Body Mass Index (BMI), fat percentage (Fat%), and waist to height ratio (WHtR). A high level of ARS was found in 9.8% of acrobats. This group most often declared attitudes and behaviors indicative of anorexic tendencies. A strong relationship with the level of ARS was noted in the following: the use of fasting and diets ( p ≤ 0.001; V = 0.54), limiting of fats and carbohydrates ( p ≤ 0.001; V = 0.60), feeling angry after eating too much ( p ≤ 0.001; V = 0.55), knowing the caloric value of many food products ( p ≤ 0.001; V = 0.59), and the desire to improve the appearance of one’s body ( p ≤ 0.001; V = 0.52). The role played in the acrobatic partnership and the region of residence were considered as the sport-related risk factors. Among non-sport factors, the strongest predictor of ARS was the age of gymnasts (β = 0.516; p ≤ 0.001).

Keywords: adolescence; anorexic tendencies; cognitive competence; eating behavior; gymnastics environment; psychological education; sport participation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13181/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13181/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:20:p:13181-:d:941032

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().