Eating disorders and elite competitive sport: Eating-disorder-related characteristics in aesthetic athletes

Due to a strong emphasis on leanness in aesthetic sports and controversial findings regarding the role of elite competitive sports in the development of eating disorders, we aimed to investigate eating-disorder-related psychopathology, particularly body image distortion, in a sample of 65 competitive athletes participating in rhythmic gymnastics (RG) and figure skating (FS). The athletes were compared to patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and a healthy control group (CG). Our results show no differences between the RG and the CG groups, but significant differences between the RG and group AN patients. The RG and FS athletes differed regarding the estimation of the circumference of their upper thigh, with FS athletes overestimating more. The FS and AN groups had similar scores regarding thigh estimation, perfectionism, and interpersonal distrust. Our results suggest possible differences between different aesthetic sports. Therefore, a differentiated consideration of these sports and their role in the development of eating disorders is necessary.