Davison and colleagues (2002) found that female athletes involved in aesthetic sports had

higher weight concern at age five and seven than athletes in other types of sports.

Aesthetic sport athletes have also been found to be more weight preoccupied than other

athletes (Petrie, 1996). Research has also found that athletes participating in aesthetic

sports have a higher prevalence of eating disorders than athletes participating in other

sports (Sundgot-Borgen, 1994) and have higher scores on eating disorder inventories than

other types of sports (Beals & Manore, 2002). For example, in a meta-analysis,

Hausenblas and Carron (1999) found that women participating in aesthetic sports self-

reported more anorexic symptomatology and had a higher drive for thinness than women

participating in other sport types. That is, aesthetic sport athletes were at greater risk for

developing eating disorders than athletes in other sports.

Gymnastics

 Research examining eating pathologies with gymnastics is equivocal. For

example, Rosen and Hough (1988) studied 42 gymnasts, and they found that all the

gymnasts were dieting and over half had used at least one form of pathogenic weight-

control (e.g., self-induced vomiting, laxatives, etc.). Petrie (1993) found that of the 215

gymnasts surveyed, 58% met the criteria for an intermediate disordered eating category

and only 22% of the gymnasts had normal eating behaviors. O'Connor and colleagues

(1995) found that more gymnasts than athletic controls reported an absence of a

menstrual period for three or more months, which is a possible indicator of amenorrhea.

However, Smolak et al. (2000), in a review of the literature, found that gymnasts were no

different than nonathletes with respect to eating problems. Similarly, Harris and Greco

(1990) found that the Eating Disorder Inventory scores for collegiate gymnasts were not

significantly different than norms for adolescent girls. In summary, it appears that