Mood Disturbances, Eating Attitudes, and Their Effect on Body Composition Changes in Elite Female Athletes

Tsukahara, Y, Torii, S, Taniguchi, Y, Kusakabe, T, Murakami, H, Yamasawa, F, and Akama, T. Mood disturbances, eating attitudes, and their effect on body composition changes in elite female athletes. J Strength Cond Res 40(7): e721-e726, 2026-Body composition is an important factor in athletic performance at high levels. However, seasonal changes and the effects of mood disturbances and eating attitudes in elite female athletes are not fully understood. In this study, measurements were taken during the season and off-season from 115 athletes. Athletes also completed the Profile of Mood States second edition and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26). Compared with the on-season, body mass did not significantly change in the off-season (54.3 ± 4.4 kg during season and 54.5 ± 4.2 kg during off-season, p = 0.085). However, body fat percentage decreased significantly during the off-season compared with the on-season (17.8 ± 3.8% during on-season and 17.1 ± 3.2% during off-season, p = 0.004). Although anger-hostility scores increased during the off-season, other domains and EAT-26 scores remained stable. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that body fat percentage decreased in older athletes (coefficient = -2.829, 95% confidence interval [CI] -4.466 to -1.192, p < 0.001) and increased in those with lower tension-anxiety (TA; coefficient = 0.739, 95% CI 0.172 to 1.306, p = 0.011) and higher fatigue-inertia (FI) (coefficient = -0.572, 95% CI -1.106 to -0.038, p = 0.036). These findings suggest that psychological stress indicators, such as TA and FI, may be associated with changes in body fat percentage. Overthinking and mood disturbances may have a negative physiological impact, highlighting the importance of psychological monitoring in elite athletes.