A randomized controlled trial of a body image intervention for girl athletes

A two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial evaluated the impact of Body Confident Athletes (BCA) on girls' (N = 568, 11-17 years) body image, sports enjoyment, and affect.

Sports organizations were randomly allocated (1:1) into either an intervention (BCA; k = 29) or waitlist control condition (k = 33). Girls and coaches in the intervention condition completed three 60-min sessions over three consecutive weeks. Primary outcomes were the immediate and short-term changes in girls' body esteem, with secondary outcomes assessing changes in girls' body appreciation, self-objectification, attuned self-care, sports enjoyment, and affect.

Girls in the BCA condition reported significant small improvements in body esteem, body appreciation, attuned self-care, self-objectification, and negative affect at postintervention, with several effects either maintained (attuned self-care at 1-month follow-up [T3], but not at 3-month follow-up [T4]) or reemerging at later follow-up points (body esteem and self-objectification at T4, but not at T3). Effects were not maintained for body appreciation or negative affect, nor did effects emerge for sports enjoyment or positive affect. Coaches were effective interventionists (i.e., 80% accuracy), with most girls comprehending key intervention messages (85.1%).

BCA is the first coach-led positive body image intervention designed for girls in sport. The findings of the current trial show that BCA is a scalable body image intervention accurately delivered by sport community members, resulting in immediate and short-term improvements in girls' body image. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).