Comparison of Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-2) Scores of Male Bodybuilders to the Male College Student Subgroup

Sara Long Anderson, Kate Zager, Ronald K. Hetzler, Marcia Nahikian-Nelms, Georganne Syler
1996 International Journal of Sport Nutrition  
The intensity and effort of bodybuilding training suggest an overinvestment in body shape and physical appearance, which has been suggested to be a risk factor for developing eating disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of eating disorder tendencies among a sample of collegiate male bodybuilders (BB, n = 68) and controls (C, n = 50) (nonbodybuilders), using the Eating Disorders Inventory 2 (EDI-2). T tests were used to test the hypothesis that bodybuilders'
more » ... s would be higher than those of controls. The mean scores on the EDI-2 did not indicate the presence of eating disorder tendencies for either group. Controls scored significantly higher than bodybuilders on the Body Dissatisfaction scale. Results indicate that when the EDI-2 is used, college-age male bodybuilders are not shown to be more likely to have eating disorders than agroup of college-age male controls. Recreational bodybuilding has become an increasingly popular sport. It is a sport focused exclusively on improving body configuration and form, with little concern for subsequent athletic performance. The scientific literature describes health and training practices of competitive bodybuilders, suggesting that this group often uses extreme dietary patterns, dehydration practices, ergogenic aids (including anabolic steroids), and dietary supplements in addition to strict training regimens (3, (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) 23, 24, 26) . Researchers have compared behavior and psychological characteristics of obligatory male runners with those of persons with anorexia nervosa (27).
doi:10.1123/ijsn.6.3.255 fatcat:ygbo2qby5ra4hfs34o5f7o3uhu