Eating and Exercise Behaviors Among Collegiate Male Athletes

There has been less research on the interplay between eating disordered behaviors and sports in young men compared with young women. Athletes, especially those who engage in sports where leanness may confer an advantage, are at high risk for dietary restricting behaviors.

Researchers distributed an online survey to 611 male Division I athletes (ages 18–26) at 10 colleges. Items focused on eating and weight control behaviors and motives for exercise. The researchers compared responses between competitive athletes (those actively competing in collegiate sports during the past year) and noncompetitive athletes (those engaged only in recreational exercise during the past year) and examined differences by sport type.

Competitive athletes were more…