# Psychosocial correlates of disordered eating among adolescent athletes: a cross-sectional study

## TL;DR

This study shows that societal pressures and body image issues contribute to unhealthy eating in young athletes, with different risk factors for males and females.

## Contribution

The study provides gender-specific insights into the psychosocial factors linked to disordered eating in adolescent athletes.

## Key findings

- Sociocultural pressures and body dissatisfaction are key drivers of disordered eating in both male and female athletes.
- Female athletes are more affected by low self-esteem and emotion regulation difficulties.
- Male athletes are more influenced by sport-related weight pressures and negative mood.

## Abstract

Attempts to optimize nutritional intake and eating behaviors in young athletes can increase the risk of developing disordered eating (DE) during an athlete’s career. A multitude of factors influencing DE have been identified in the existing literature, encompassing general and sport-specific factors, and have been integrated into a conceptual model based on Petrie and Greenleaf’s work and additional research evidence in adults, but has not been proven in young athletes.

A total of 691 adolescent athletes (m/f: 276/415) aged 14–20 years, completed a set of online questionnaires assessing DE and different influential factors. Two separate structural equation models (SEMs) were tested: one for female athletes and one for male athletes.

The initial models showed poor fit; however, respecified models revealed key associations for each gender. Sociocultural pressures and their internalization primarily influenced body dissatisfaction in both genders, which contributed to DE. Additionally, emotion regulation difficulties and low self-esteem were linked to DE in female athletes, whereas sport weight pressures and negative mood were associated with DE in male athletes.

Sociocultural pressures and body dissatisfaction critically affect DE in both female and male athletes, but etiological models for DE differ slightly between genders. If confirmed, prevention programs should be tailored accordingly.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40337-025-01500-x.

Young athletes often try to improve their eating behaviors to boost performance. But this can sometimes lead to unhealthy eating behaviors. In this study, we wanted to better understand what puts adolescent athletes at risk for disordered eating. We asked 691 athletes aged 14 to 20 to complete an online questionnaire. We found that pressure from society — and how strongly athletes believed in these ideals — had a big impact on how they felt about their bodies. This was linked to disordered eating in both female and male athletes. However, some risk factors were different: for female athletes, low self-esteem and difficulty managing emotions were important. For male athletes, pressure about weight from their sport and negative mood played a bigger role. These results suggest that prevention programs should be tailored to the specific needs of female and male athletes.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40337-025-01500-x.