WEIGHT CONTROL IN WRESTLING: EATING DISORDERS
OR DISORDERED EATING
KATE S. NOLAN DALE AND DANIEL M. LANDERS
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Several recent studies have pointed out that the weight loss techniques
used by wrestlers to make weight are similar to the behavior of bulimics.
The purpose of this study was to determine if an increase risk of bulimia
nerosa existed for a group of junior high and high school wrestlers.
Wrestlers (N = 85) completed the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) once during
the season, and once during the off-season. A comparison group of
nonwrestlers (N = 75) also completed the questionnaire. Chi square
analysis revealed significant differences between in-season wrestlers and
nonwrestlers on the Drive for Thinness subscale. In both cases, significantly
more in-season wrestlers scored above the cutoff on the subscale.
These results indicate that although in-season wrestlers are more weight
conscious than nonwrestlers, these feelings and attitudes are transient.
All subjects classified as "at risk" also participated in an interview
which followed the format of the Eating Disorder Examination. Interviews
with in-season wrestlers revealed that their concerns with weight were
due entirely to the demands of wrestling, and did not meet the severity
level required for a diagnosis of bulimia nerosa.
An abstract of this presentation is published in the Congress Proceedings
of the Fourth I.O.C. World Congress on Sport Sciences: "Training and Care
of Athletes--Current Concepts and Technologies," October, 1997, p.
203. Lausanne, Switzerland: International Olympic Committee Medical Commission.