IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i20p13181-d941032.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Anorexic Readiness Syndrome in Elite Female Acrobatic Gymnasts—International Study

Author

Listed:
  • Ewa Polak

    (Academic Sports Centre, Rzeszow University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland)

  • Adrianna Gardzińska

    (Academic Sports Centre, Rzeszow University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland)

  • Maria Zadarko-Domaradzka

    (Institute of Physical Culture Sciences, Medical College, Rzeszow University, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland)

Abstract

Anorexic Readiness Syndrome (ARS) is a concept used in research for the early detection of disordered eating (DE). It is a set of indicators located primarily within the cognitive and behavioral sphere of an individual’s functioning. The aim of this study was to examine whether among the elite acrobats there are girls showing a high level of anorexic tendency, and if so, what behaviors and attitudes are the most common. In addition, an attempt to determine what sport-related factors or other non-sport variables may increase the risk of ARS was conducted. The study group was made up of 133 acrobatic gymnasts aged 10–19, representing six countries that participated in the Acro World Cup competition held in Poland. The study procedures included surveys (personal questionnaire and the Eating Attitudes Questionnaire), anthropometric measurements such as weight, height, waist circumference (WC) and determination of the Body Mass Index (BMI), fat percentage (Fat%), and waist to height ratio (WHtR). A high level of ARS was found in 9.8% of acrobats. This group most often declared attitudes and behaviors indicative of anorexic tendencies. A strong relationship with the level of ARS was noted in the following: the use of fasting and diets ( p ≤ 0.001; V = 0.54), limiting of fats and carbohydrates ( p ≤ 0.001; V = 0.60), feeling angry after eating too much ( p ≤ 0.001; V = 0.55), knowing the caloric value of many food products ( p ≤ 0.001; V = 0.59), and the desire to improve the appearance of one’s body ( p ≤ 0.001; V = 0.52). The role played in the acrobatic partnership and the region of residence were considered as the sport-related risk factors. Among non-sport factors, the strongest predictor of ARS was the age of gymnasts (β = 0.516; p ≤ 0.001).

Suggested Citation

  • Ewa Polak & Adrianna Gardzińska & Maria Zadarko-Domaradzka, 2022. "Anorexic Readiness Syndrome in Elite Female Acrobatic Gymnasts—International Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-19, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:20:p:13181-:d:941032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13181/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13181/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:20:p:13181-:d:941032. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.