Understanding athletic and exercise identity in relation to disordered eating behaviors

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated the associations between athletic and exercise identities and a range of disordered eating and exercise behaviors.

Method: Study 1 (N = 441; 53.5% female) included online questionnaires of athletic identity and disordered eating behaviors, anthropometrics, and demographic information. Study 2 (N = 225; 50.2% female) added measures of: exercise identity, exercise behaviors, and a broader measure of disordered eating behaviors. Multiple linear regressions were used to test hypotheses. Dominance analysis was used in Study 2 to determine the unique variance accounted for by each predictor.

Results: Controlling for body mass index (BMI), age, and sex, athletic identity was not significantly associated with disordered eating in Study 1 (ps > 0.039) but was significantly associated with lower cognitive restraint in Study 2 (p = 0.012). In Study 2, stronger exercise identity was significantly associated with more cognitive restraint (p < 0.001), more body dissatisfaction (p = 0.016), more compulsive exercise (p < 0.001), and more positive and healthy exercise (p < 0.001), after controlling for BMI, age, sex, and athletic identity. Dominance analyses suggested that exercise identity was more strongly associated with these outcomes than athletic identity.

Conclusion: Exercise identity, but not athletic identity, may be an important risk factor for disordered eating and exercise behaviors in broad populations.

Level of evidence: Level IV, results from uncontrolled trial.

Keywords: Compulsive behavior; Exercise; Feeding and eating disorders; Risk factors; Self concept.