Abstract
Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT-26) and self-administered questionnaires were used to survey eating attitudes and menstrual irregularity of Japanese (J) and Chinese (C) collegiate female runners (RUNs), rhythmic gymnasts (RGYMs), gymnasts (GYMs), and nonathletic controls (NAs). Athletes were recruited from several outstanding colleges for physical education and sport in each country. The prevalence of disordered eating (DE) was significantly higher in Japanese athletes (21 % in JRUNs, 19 % in JRGYMs, and 15 % in JGYMs) than Chinese athletes (4 % in CRUNs, 2 % in CRGYMs, and none in CGYMs). Also, the prevalence of amenorrhea was very low in CRUNs (1 %), CRGYMs (0 %), and CGYMs (0 %), as compared with their respective Japanese counterparts (JRUNs 22 %, JRGYMs 10 %, JGYMs 8 %). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of DE and amenorrhea between Japanese and Chinese NAs. Multivariate logistic regression analysis using 10 independent variables regarding anthropometrics, athletics, weight and diet concern, and nationality indicated that high frequency of dieting during a lifetime, high athletic level and being Japanese were significant risks for the development of DE in athletes. It is concluded that the low prevalence of DE in the Chinese in this study is partly explained by the lack of socioculturally- and socioeconomically-imposed desire to be thin as well as by the low frequency of dieting during their lifetime.
Key words
EAT-26 - disordered eating (DE) - menstrual irregularity - Japanese and Chinese female athletes
References
-
1 American Psychiatric Association .Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 3rd ed. Washington, DC; American Psychiatric Association 1989
-
2
Anderson A, Hay A.
Racial and socioeconomical influences in anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
Int J Eat Disord.
1985;
4
479-487
-
3
Bells K A, Menorah M M.
The prevalence and consequences of subclinical eating disorders in female athletes.
Int J Sport Nutr.
1994;
4
175-195
-
4
Brownell K D, Steen S N, Wilmore J H.
Weight regulation practices in athletes: analysis of metabolic and health effects.
Med Sci Sports Exerc.
1987;
6
546-556
-
5
Chen J, Shi J.
Environmental and genetic factors of hyperlipidemia in athletes and coaches.
Jpn J Phys Fitness Sports Med.
1995;
44
16-26
-
6
Drinkwater B L, Nilson D, Chesnut C H, Bremmer A J, Shainholtz S, Southworth M.
Bone mineral content of amenorrheic and eumenorrheic athletes.
N Engl J Med.
1984;
311
277-281
-
7
Dueck C A, Manore M M, Matt K S.
Role of energy balance in athletic menstrual dysfunction.
Int J Sport Nutr.
1996;
6
165-190
-
8
Garner D M, Olmstead M P, Bohr Y, Garfinkel P E.
The Eating Attitude Test: psychometric features and clinical correlates.
Psychol Med.
1982;
12
871-878
-
9
Garner D M, Olmstead M P, Polivy J.
Development and validation of a multidimensional eating disorder inventory for anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
Int J Eat Disord.
1983;
2
15-34
-
10
Garner D M, Olmstead M P, Garfinkel P E.
Does anorexia nervosa occur on a continuum?.
Int J Eat Disord.
1983;
2
11-20
-
11
Gowers S, McMahon J.
Social class and prognosis in anorexia nervosa.
Int J Eat Disord.
1989;
8
105-109
-
12
Kaiserauer S, Snyder A C, Sleeper M, Zierath J.
Nutritional, physiological and menstrual status of distance runners.
Med Sci Sport Exerc.
1991;
23
15-22
-
13
Kiernan M, Rodin J, Brownell K D, Wilmore J H, Crandall C.
Relation of level of exercise, age, and weight-cycling history to weight and eating concerns in male and female runners.
Health Psychology.
1992;
11
418-421
-
14
Lee S.
How abnormal is the desire for slimness? A survey of eating attitudes and behaviour among Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong.
Psychol Med.
1993;
23
437-451
-
15
Lee S, Lee A M.
DE in three communities of China: a comparative study of female high school students in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and rural Hunan.
Int J Eat Disord.
2000;
27
317-327
-
16
Lee S, Kwok K, Liau C, Leung T.
Screening Chinese patients with eating disorders using the Eating Attitudes Test in Hong Kong.
Int J Eat Disord.
2002;
32
91-97
-
17
Loucks A B, Verdun M, Heath E M.
Low energy availability, not stress of exercise, alters LH pulsatility in exercising women.
J Appl Physiol.
1998;
84
37-46
-
18
Loucks A B, Laughlin G A, Mortola J F, Girton L, Nelson J C, Yen S SC.
Hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroidal function in eumenorrheic and amenorrheic athletes.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab.
1992;
75
514-518
-
19
Loucks A B, Horvath S M.
Athletic amenorrhea: a review.
Med Sci Sports Exerc.
1985;
17
56-72
-
20
Marcus R, Cann R C, Madvig P, Minkoff J, Coddard M, Bayer M, Martin M, Gaudini L, Haskell W, Genant H.
Menstrual function and bone mass in elite women distance runners.
Ann Intern Med.
1985;
102
158-163
-
21
Myerson M, Gutin B, Warren M P, May M T, Contento I, Lee M, Pi-Sunyer F X, Bierson R N, Brooks-Gunn J.
Resting metabolic rate and energy balance in amenorrheic and eumenorrheic runners.
Med Sci Sports Exerc.
1991;
23
15-22
-
22
Nakamura K, Hoshino Y, Watanabe A, Honda K, Niwa A, Tominaga K, Shimai S, Yamamoto M.
Eating problems in female Japanese high school students: A prevalence study.
Int J Eat Disord.
1999;
26
91-95
-
23
Nelson M E, Fisher E C, Catosos P D, Meredith C N, Turksoy R N, Evance W J.
Diet and bone status in amenorrheic runners.
Am J Clin Nutr.
1986;
43
910-916
-
24
Okano G, Taguchi M, Mu Z, Sato Y, Kaji M, Sugiura K.
A survey comparing nutritional status and exercise training programs between adolescent Japanese and Chinese athletes.
Jpn J Phys Fitness Sports Med.
1993;
42
446-454
-
25
Picard C L.
The level of competition as a factor for the development of eating disorders in female collegiate athletes.
J Youth Adolesc.
1999;
28
583-594
-
26
Stewart D E.
Reproductive functions in eating disorders.
Ann Med.
1992;
24
287-291
-
27
Sundgot-Borgen J.
Prevalence of eating disorders in elite female athletes.
Int J Sport Nutr.
1993;
3
29-40
-
28
Sundgot-Borgen J.
Eating disorders in female athletes.
Sports Med.
1994;
17
176-188
-
29
Sundgot-Borgen J.
Risk and trigger factors for the development of eating disorders in female elite athletes.
Med Sci Sports Exerc.
1994;
26
414-419
-
30 Suematsu H, Takano A, Suino O, Kitagawa T, Hujita T. Validity and Reliability of the Japanese Short version of Eating Attitudes Test. Report from Reseach group of Anorexia Nervosa in the Ministry of Health and Welfare (in Japanese). Tokyo; Ministry of Health and Welfare 1985: 30-38
-
31
Wade G N, Schneider J E, Li H Y.
Control of fertility by metabolic cues.
Am J Physiol.
1996;
270
1-19
-
32
Willmore J H.
Eating and weight disorders in the female athlete.
Int J Sport Nutr.
1991;
1
104-117
-
33
Williams N I, Young J C, McArthur J W, Bullen B, Skrinar G S, Turnbull B.
Strenuous exercise with caloric restriction: Effect on luteinizing hormon secretion.
Med Sci Sports Exerc.
1995;
27
1390-1398
-
34
Williamson D A, Netemeyer R G, Jackman L P, Anderson D A, Funsch C L, Rabalais J Y.
Structural equation modeling of risk factors for the development of eating disorders in female athletes.
Int J Eat Disord.
1995;
17
387-393
-
35
Zanker C L, Swaine I L.
The relationship between serum oestradiol concentration and energy balance in young women distance runners.
Int J Sports Med.
1998;
19
104-108
G. Okano
Division of Exercise Science, Sapporo Medical University
S1W17
Sapporo 060-8556
Japan
Phone: + 810116112111 (ext. 2226)
Fax: + 81 01 16 12 58 61
Email: okano@sapmed.ac.jp
