The relationship between disordered eating behaviors and injury rates in adolescent athletes

To explore the relationship between disordered eating (DE) and significant sport injury in adolescent athletes.

Responses to one item of the Disordered Eating Screen for Athletes and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) items, administered to n = 308 adolescent athletes, were analyzed with data on injury. Nonparametric statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to examine differences in DE rates amongst known injured adolescent athletes.

The EAT-26 scores of injured females, median score of 9, were significantly higher than all other groupings with H(3) = 17.26 p < .001, η²  = .047. Using regression analyses, injury significantly predicted a rise in EAT-26 score by five points in females, p = .01, R²  = .052.

This evidence suggests a relationship between adolescent female sport injury and DE, but no relationship between adolescent male sport injury and DE. These results demonstrate a need to screen for DE in athletes. Given a positive screen, athletes should be educated on the risks associated with relative energy deficiency and potentially referred to a practitioner with knowledge of the associated complications.