Prior research has found the female athlete triad in both female athletes and female non-athletes. This study consisted of 192 female participants attending Utah State University with 103 collegiate athletes and 89 non-athletes. The instruments used included the EAT-26, menstrual cycle history questionnaire, osteoporosis questionnaire, and time spent in exercise questionnaire. Results from the present study found a statistically significant difference between athletes and non-athletes being at risk for the triad with female athletes having a higher percentage (4.8%, 3.4%). No statistical significant correlation was found between the risk of the triad and excessive amounts of time spent in exercise in athletes (r=.113, p=.256) and non-athletes (r=-.041, p=.706). When athletes were divided into lean and non-lean athletes statistical significance was found with non-lean (17.4%) sport athletes (χ²(1,N=103)=83.971, p<.01) having a higher overall percentage of being at risk of the triad compared to the athletes involved in lean (5%) sports.

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This is the final submission of my Masters Thesis. / OBJECTIVES: Cognitive disordered eating behaviours (body shape concerns) are prevalent among youth with higher unhealthy body mass indexes (BMIs), while physical disordered eating behaviours (unhealthy changes in eating habits) are common mechanisms in determining future BMI. This thesis investigates the associations between these disordered eating behaviours and BMI categories and evaluates potential covariate modification. As a secondary objective, this thesis investigates the association between unhealthy eating patterns and BMI categories. METHODS & DATA ANALYSIS: This study was conducted among Canadian youth aged 12-17 (n=12,350). Body shape concerns were measured as the frequency of having a preoccupied desire to be thin while changing eating habits was measured as the frequency of changing eating habits to manage weight. Unhealthy eating patterns were defined as frequent restaurant eating, energy drink consumption, and skipping breakfast. Categorical BMI classifications consisted of obesity, overweight and normal/underweight. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression models were constructed. Covariates were independently tested for statistical interaction in the primary relationships. Measures of association were reported as adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Having a preoccupied desire to be thin was associated with increased odds of being overweight and having obesity. These relationships were modified by sex, physical activity, and sleep. Changing eating habits to manage weight was associated with increased odds of being overweight and having obesity. These relationships were modified by sex. Skipping breakfast increased the odds of being overweight and having obesity, while consuming energy drinks increased the odds of having obesity. CONCLUSION: Over 40% of the sample experienced some frequency of having body shape concerns or changing eating habits to manage weight. These disordered eating behaviours increase the odds of being overweight and having obesity. Continued monitoring through national–level surveys, will be crucial in understanding changes in rates of disordered eating behaviour. / Thesis / Master of Public Health (MPH)

Petrie and Greenleaf's sociocultural model proposes that athletes experience unique sport environment pressures regarding weight, body size/shape, eating and appearance that increases their risk of developing disordered eating (DE) attitudes and behaviors. Although research in cross-correlational studies has looked at prevalence of eating disorders (ED) and DE behaviors in different sport types, such pressures are likely to vary by sport depending on its unique environment and performance demands. For instance, female athletes in leanness sports experience more body dissatisfaction and societal appearance pressures compared to those in nonleanness sports. Because these effects have been established primarily with female athletes, I examined ED/DE correlates from Petrie and Greenleaf's model with 695 collegiate male athletes who represented five sport types (endurance, ball game, power, technical, weight-dependent) based on a well-established categorization system. Through a series of one-way MANCOVAs (BMI serving as the covariate), I found that sport types were significantly different from each other on all ED/DE correlates except for negative affect. Follow-up analysis revealed that power, endurance, and weight-dependent athletes showed the greatest number of significantly different group centroids, demonstrating distinct profiles among the sport types in their experiences of the ED/DE correlates. Discussion focuses on possible explanations for the research findings, future directions, and clinical implications.

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Female collegiate athletes have been established as a high-risk group for the development of eating disorders due to the high prevalence rates of clinical and subclinical eating disorders, which have ranged from 1.9% to 16.6% and 4.0% to 26.1%, respectively. Collegiate athletes appear to meet criteria for ED-NOS more often than anorexia or bulimia nervosa, and frequently engage in pathogenic weight control behaviors (e.g., dieting, excessive exercise). To date, only a few studies have examined the long-term stability of eating disorders in collegiate female athletes. The current study investigated the prevalence of eating disorders (i.e., eating disordered, symptomatic, and asymptomatic) and pathogenic weight control behaviors (e.g, binging, vomiting, laxative use) in 325 NCAA-DI female collegiate gymnasts and swimmers/divers across two time points – the beginning of their competitive seasons (Time 1) and during the final two weeks of their competitive seasons (Time 2). By Time 2, 90% of the athletes classified as eating disordered at Time 1 (n = 20) maintained clinical or subclinical eating disturbances. Of the 83 athletes originally symptomatic, 37.3% remained so and 10.8% became eating disordered. Significantly more athletes became satisfied with their bodies over the course of the season than became dissatisfied. The athletes reported using exercise and dieting/fasting as the most frequent forms of weight control behaviors, each of which were used less frequently at Time 2 than at Time 1. The results support overall stability of eating disorder behaviors and classification over the course of a competitive season. Limitations and implications are discussed.

The non-medical use of prescription drugs is an important public health concern. Non-medical use of prescription stimulants (NMUPS), specifically medications used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), is particularly concerning. One timely concern regarding NMUPS, especially among young adults, is their role in appetite suppression/weight loss. Indeed, some individuals are motivated to misuse such drugs for the purpose of losing weight. Engaging in NMUPS for weight loss has been examined only minimally in the research literature. However, extant data demonstrate that this behavior is associated with other unhealthy behaviors and poor psychosocial health. Limitations of prior research include the exclusive use of college student samples and little attention to relevant health behavior theory. The current study investigated NMUPS for weight loss in a national, young adult sample (n = 1526), ages 18-25 years, utilizing Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Motivations and attitudes about NMUPS were evaluated, within the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A structural equation model (SEM) was analyzed, which included attitudes; social norms; and perceived behavioral control (PBC) to lose weight without stimulants, as predictors of engaging in past year NMUPS for weight loss. Approximately 12.0% of participants reported lifetime NMUPS for weight loss, and of these, 48.4% reported past year use. Findings demonstrate that use is related to disordered eating and unhealthy weight loss behaviors, including vomiting; high rates of other substance use; and psychological concerns, including body dissatisfaction and depressive symptomatology. These results suggest that NMUPS for weight loss is associated with a variety of negative consequences and users are not well-informed regarding medication knowledge. The SEM provided adequate overall fit to the data; two of the four social norms and both PBC factors were significantly associated with NMUPS for weight loss. This study extends the literature on the utility of the TPB in examining NMUPS, and provides the first research on utilizing the TPB to examine NMUPS for weight loss. Methods aimed at increasing PBC regarding stimulant use and weight loss, and emphasizing healthful and sustaining weight loss strategies, improving mental health, and educating about polysubstance use are potential intervention targets.

L’addiction à l’alimentation (AA) est un concept ancien, mais encore sujet de controverses qui toucherait 18 à 24 % des obèses. Dans cette thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés aux intrications entre régulations du comportement alimentaire, addiction et AA, afin de mieux comprendre les mécanismes liés à la désinhibition de la prise alimentaire. Notre travail a conduit à plusieurs résultats : 1) Une revue de la littérature a permis de montrer l’existence d’interaction étroite entre les niveaux de régulation du comportement alimentaire et comment AA pourrait en être un exemple de dérégulation. 2) Une étude de cohorte a permis de démontrer l’existence de caractéristiques cliniques communes entre addictions et AA et celle d’un probable transfert d’addiction de la nicotine vers l’alimentation. 3) Sur le plan expérimental, nous avons montré qu’il existe des perturbations des ondes P300 et N200, dans l’obésité et la désinhibition alimentaire, proches de celles observées dans les addictions. 4) Enfin, nos résultats suggèrent le rôle potentiel de la ghréline comme marqueur de risque de trouble du comportement alimentaire. Ce travail ouvre des perspectives sur le plan expérimental, avec la suggestion de groupes contrôles plus pertinents ; cliniques, avec la création d’un potentiel test de dépistage rapide ; thérapeutiques, avec la mise en place d’un essai thérapeutique par tDCS / Food addiction (FA) is an old concept, but still subject to controversy. It affects 18 to 24% of obese people. In this thesis, we are interested in overlaps between food behavior regulation, addiction and FA, in order to better understand the mechanisms linked to food intake disinhibition. Our work leads to several results: 1) A review of the literature has shown the existence of close interaction between eating behavior regulation levels and how FA could be an example of their disturbance. 2) A cohort study demonstrated the existence of common clinical features between addiction and FA and a probable addiction transfer from nicotine to food. 3) From an experimental point of view, we have shown that there are disturbances of P300 and N200 ERP, in obesity and food disinhibition, close to those observed in addictions. 4) Finally, our results suggest the potential role of ghrelin as a marker for eating disorders increased risk. This work opens experimental perspectives, with the suggestion of more relevant control groups; clinical perspectives, with the creation of a screening tool; therapeutics perspectives, with the establishment of a therapeutic trial by tDCS

The concept of self-compassion has been gathering interest for researchers in recent years, as it appears to offer an array of benefits to wellbeing. This study investigated the potential role of self-compassion as a protective factor against disordered eating behaviors. It also examined the mediating roles of three potential variables: body dissatisfaction, perfectionism and contingent self-worth. Given modern representations of the female ideal, failure to achieve or adequately conform to such standards often poses psychological challenges for women and girls. Self-compassion encompasses kind, mindful self-treatment and may be an ideal protective factor against disordered eating. It has also been linked with lower body dissatisfaction, maladaptive perfectionism, and contingent self-worth. The present study found that dissatisfaction with one’s body, as well as a tendency to judge one’s personal worth based on appearance fully mediated the relationship between self-compassion and both restrained and emotional disordered eating respectively. Therefore, a self-compassionate attitude may serve as a protective factor against engaging in disordered eating vis-à-vis strengthening young women’s abilities to look at their bodies in a more compassionate and unconditionally accepting way. / text