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Review
Disordered eating and eating disorders in male elite athletes: a scoping review
  1. Yannis Karrer1,
  2. Robin Halioua1,
  3. Sonja Mötteli1,
  4. Samuel Iff2,
  5. Erich Seifritz1,
  6. Matthias Jäger1,3,
  7. Malte Christian Claussen1,4
  1. 1 Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  2. 2 Bern, Switzerland
  3. 3 Psychiatrie Baselland, Liestal, Switzerland
  4. 4 Private Clinic Wyss AG, Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland
  1. Correspondence to Malte Christian Claussen; malte.claussen{at}pukzh.ch

Abstract

Background Eating disorders (ED) and disordered eating (DE) among male elite athletes share some of the characteristics seen in female elite athletes and the population, but also exhibit some key differences.

Objective Scoping review of ED and DE in male elite athletes.

Methods In May 2020, a comprehensive systematic literature search was conducted for DE and ED in male elite athletes.

Results We identified 80 studies which included 47 uncontrolled, 14 controlled studies, one interventional trial and 18 reviews.

Discussion There was a wide range of definitions of DE and a high level of heterogeneity regarding competitive level, age and sport type. In adult male elite athletes, ED prevalence rates up to 32.5% were found, higher than in the general population. Prevalence was not higher in young/adolescent male elite athletes. The most frequently associated factor was competing in weight-sensitive sports. Male elite athletes tended to exhibit less body dissatisfaction than controls and were not always associated with DE. There were no studies looking at the prognosis or reporting an evidence-based approach for the management of DE in male elite athletes.

Conclusion Existing literature indicates high prevalence of DE and ED in male elite athletes, with a wide range of aetiopathogenesis. There is a need for longitudinal studies to characterise the pathology and long-term outcomes, as well as develop standardised tools for assessment and treatments.

  • Male
  • Elite performance
  • Athlete
  • Eating disorders
  • Review
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2020-000801

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    Footnotes

    • YK and RH are joint first authors.

    • Contributors MCC proposed the idea of the paper in discussion with YK, RH, MJ. MJ and MCC were responsible for the conceptualisation and methodology of the paper with inputs on the conceptualisation and methodology by YK, RH and methodological inputs by SM. YK and RH conducted the systematic literature search. YK, RH and MCC manually searched full-text references for additional relevant papers. YK wrote the original draft, that was reviewed by RH, SM, ES, MJ, MCC and edited by RH and YK. YK, RH and SM were responsible for the visualisation. YK and SI carried out the full revision of the paper after initial review and were supported during the second revision by SME. MCC and ES were responsible for the research planning and execution. MCC supervised the whole project and is guarantor. YK, RH, SM, SI, ES, MJ, MCC, SME approved the version of the manuscript to be published.

      YK, RH, SM, SI, ES, MJ, MCC, SME agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. YK: Yannis Karrer. RH: Robin Halioua. SM: Dr Sonja Mötteli. SI: Dr Samuel Iff. ES: Prof. Dr Erich Seifritz. MJ: PD Dr Matthias Jäger. MCC: Dr Malte Christian Claussen. SME: Simon Manuel Ewers.

    • Funding The authors received no specific funding for this work.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the authors. It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the authors and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.