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The purpose of this study was to delineate and further define the behavioral, psychological, and physical characteristics of female athletes with subclinical eating disorders. Subjects consisted of 24 athletes with subclinical eating disorders (SCED) and 24 control athletes. Group classification was determined by scores on the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), and a symptom checklist for eating disorders (EDI-SC). Characteristics representative of the female athletes with subclinical eating disorders were derived from an extensive health and dieting history questionnaire and an in-depth interview (the Eating Disorder Examination). Energy intake and expenditure (kcal/d) were estimated using 7-day weighed food records and activity logs. The characteristics most common in the female athletes with subclinical eating disorders included: (a) preoccupation with food, energy intake, and body weight; (b) distorted body image and body weight dissatisfaction; (c) undue influence of body weight on self-evaluation; (d) intense fear of gaining weight even though at or slightly below (-5%) normal weight; (e) attempts to lose weight using one or more pathogenic weight control methods; (g) food intake governed by strict dietary rules, accompanied by extreme feelings of guilt and self-hatred upon breaking a rule; (h) absence of medical disorder to explain energy restriction, weight loss, or maintenance of low body weight; and (i) menstrual dysfunction. Awareness of these characteristics may aid in more timely identification and treatment of female athletes with disordered eating patterns and, perhaps, prevent the development of more serious, clinical eating disorders.

The sport of competitive bodybuilding is strongly associated with muscle dysmorphia, a body-image-related psychological disorder. This theoretical article draws on existing concepts, namely stereotyping, prejudice, and positive deviance in sport, to explicate the notion that competitive bodybuilding and body-image disturbance may be mistakenly conflated. The perspective offered here goes beyond the countercultural physique to argue that a negative social perception of competitive bodybuilders obscures the pragmatic necessity to develop a hypermesomorphic physique. Competitive bodybuilders (CBs) and athletes in mainstream competitive sport exhibit congruent psychobehavioral tendencies. In a competitive-sport context, behavior among CBs perceived as pathological may primarily represent a response to the ideological sporting ethic of “win at all costs,” not extreme body-image disturbance. Analyzing the psychobehavioral characteristics of CBs within a sporting rather than a pathological framework, allows for a contextual assessment of behaviors to then determine the clinical significance relative to the research population under investigation.

Adolescent cheerleaders are seen as American icons, but psychosocial factors can predispose them to body image disturbances and disordered eating. Understanding body image development is critical to promoting healthy body image, as well as preventing disordered eating and its related health risks. The purpose of this study was to explore the development of body image among adolescent female cheerleaders. A grounded theory approach was used to conduct 26 interviews with 14 adolescent female cheerleaders (M = 14.07, SD = 2.40) who cheered at All-star gyms, junior high, or high schools to explore their body image experiences. The categories included body awareness (i.e., physical changes, body comparison), cheerleading environment (i.e., cheerleading image, position body type, uniform), and social factors (i.e., parental influences, comments from others). These categories influenced body image through the central category, developing attitude, demonstrating the complexity of body image construction among adolescent females.