Question

Eating disorder symptoms among undergraduate varsity athletes, club athletes, independent exercisers, and nonexercisers.

Objective: To examine whether differences in eating disorder symptoms exist between women who are varsity athletes, club athletes, independent exercisers, and nonexercisers and to determine whether sports anxiety moderates any observed between-group effects.

Method: 274 female undergraduates completed the eating disorders inventory and the physical activity and sport anxiety scale and reported their exercise habits.

Results: Women who participated in sports tended to have higher levels of eating disorder symptomatology than those who did not. Higher levels of sports anxiety were predictive of higher levels of bulimic symptoms and drive for thinness. Finally, the interaction of sports anxiety and level of athletic participation significantly predicted body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptoms.

Conclusion: Coaches and clinicians should be aware that athletes experience higher rates of eating disorder symptoms than nonathletes. Moreover, sports anxiety should be considered as a possible target of therapy among athletes.

1. List the Independent Variable(s).
2. List the dependent variable(s)
3. In your opinion how generalizable is this study? Why?
4. How can this study help inform evidence based practice?

Answer 1

1. List of independent variables: eating disorders, sports anxiety

2. List of dependent variables : varsity athletes, club athletes, independent exercisers and nonexercisers.

3. This study is generalizable because it talks about the effects of physical activities and inactivities on eating disorders and sports anxiety. So whenever these things will happen, this study can be used or may be generalised. This would be true for all the women of that particular age group.

4. This problem is real life based problem. Everybody can see the effects of exercise on body and the diet. So, after analysing the study, one must know that how much food may be taken by her. She must have to avoid the eating disorder and follow the rule of diet. So that she could feel the effects of exercise on her body whether she is being slim or not.