Eating disorder prevention initiatives for athletes: A review

Abstract

A substantial amount of evidence suggests that collegiate and elite athletes involved in weight-sensitive sports are at greater risk of developing eating disorders (EDs) than the general population. With the limited effectiveness of treatment for EDs, prevention of EDs has been broadly considered in the literature. The present paper reviewed the existing literature on ED prevention programmes for athletes in order to determine the current status of prevention programmes and recommend future directions. The available literature suggests that selective, primary interventions with multiple targets and an interactive multimodal approach appear most effective. Current challenges in the field, including lack of longitudinal research, hesitation by the sport community to be involved in ED research and poor cross-field communication and collaboration, are also explored. The lack of dissemination of evidence-based prevention programmes and the simultaneous promotion of prevention programmes that have not yet been empirically examined are also discussed. Based on these observations future directions are recommended.

IOC consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S): 2018 update

“…Effective eating disorder prevention programmes should be multimodal, interactive and target athletes and coaching staff 161. One successful intervention is a peer-led educational programme for female athletes that resulted in improved bulimic pathology 1 year postintervention 162.…”

The Female Athlete Body project study: 18‐month outcomes in eating disorder symptoms and risk factors

“…As noted by Bar and colleagues (Bar et al, ), larger trials with longer follow‐ups are needed for programs that demonstrate positive results. The aim of the present RCT was to replicate and extend the preliminary results from the pilot/feasibility study conducted by Becker et al () using a larger sample and a longer follow‐up.…”

“…Unfortunately, most FA ED prevention (or risk factor reduction) programs have shown limited effects on empirically supported ED risk factors (Bar, Cassin, & Dionne, 2016). Yet, two programs (Becker, McDaniel, Bull, Powell, & McIntyre, 2012;Martinsen et al, 2014) have produced long-term effects in ED symptoms or risk factors with FAs.…”

Nature and efficacy of interventions addressing eating psychopathology in athletes: A systematic review of randomised and nonrandomised trials

“…However, the incidence of eating disorder onset was not reduced (Coelho et al, ). In another review of athlete eating disorder prevention programmes ( n = 11; Bar, Cassin, & Dionne, ), it was reported that most interventions demonstrated promising findings in preventing or reducing eating psychopathology in athletes, with four studies reporting sustained intervention effects [2–6 weeks ( n = 2); 9–36 months ( n = 2)]. Additionally, the most effective programmes were identified as those that included multiple intervention targets (e.g., athletes, coaches, and parents) and those conducted with athletes under 18 years (Bar et al, ).…”