Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40119446›Full record

ArticleJournal of eating disorders2025

Evaluating the prevalence of eating disorder risk and low energy availability risk in collegiate athletes.

Lauren J Puscheck, Julie Kennel, Catherine Saenz

Abstract read
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Article in Journal of eating disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

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0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Lauren J PuscheckDepartment of Human Sciences, Human Nutrition Program, The Ohio State University, 306B Atwell Hall, 453 W 10th Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA. puscheck.2@osu.edu.
Julie KennelDepartment of Human Sciences, Human Nutrition Program, The Ohio State University, 306B Atwell Hall, 453 W 10th Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
Catherine SaenzDepartment of Human Sciences, Exercise Science Program, The Ohio State University, A048 PAES Building, 305 Annie and John Glenn Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEating disorders and low energy availability independently and negatively impact eating behaviors and attitudes and overall health. Screening provides early identification of athletes suffering from these conditions, yet few studies have evaluated both simultaneously, and none have investigated eating disorder and low energy availability in the context of sex or sport type. This study determined the prevalence of eating disorder and low energy availability risk in collegiate athletes at a large National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 university and the variation of prevalence by sport, sport type, and sex.

methodsThis cross-sectional study of NCAA Division 1 athletes used a self-administered survey to collect demographic data and assessed risk using the Eating Disorder Screen for Athletes, Low Energy Availability in Females Questionnaire, and Low Energy Availability in Males Questionnaire. Variations in prevalence were assessed using chi-square tests and variations in mean screening tool scores were assessed using t-tests and ANOVA. Significance was set at p < 0.05.

resultsOut of 220 athletes (76 males, 144 females) across 19 sports, 38.18% were at risk for an eating disorder and 47.17% were at risk for low energy availability, while 22.73% were at risk for both conditions. Females had a higher distribution of positive screens for an eating disorder (p = 0.002) and low energy availability (p < 0.001) than males. Aesthetic sport athletes had the highest proportion of eating disorder risk (p = 0.016)-but low energy availability (p = 0.871) did not vary by sport type. Dance team athletes had the highest prevalence of eating disorder risk by sport (p < 0.001), while women's gymnasts had the highest prevalence of low energy availability risk (p < 0.001) by sport.

conclusionsA high percentage of athletes were at risk for an eating disorder and low energy availability. Screening protocols can identify eating disorders and low energy availability earlier, leading to quicker treatment and prevention of severe consequences.

Indexed as

Collegiate athletesEating disordersLEALow energy availabilityREDsRelative energy deficiency in sport

Identifiers

PMID40119446
PMCPMC11929264

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.