Eating pathology in female gymnasts: Potential risk and protective factors

• Pubertal development was related to higher levels of body surveillance.
• Body surveillance was related body shame, which was related to eating pathology.
• Training was associated with lower levels of body shame and eating pathology.
• Training and self-esteem may serve as protective factors for pathological eating.
• Pubertal development may serve as a risk factor for pathological eating.

Although participation in sports that emphasize aestheticism, such as women's gymnastics, are associated with higher rates of eating pathology, little is known about the risk and protective factors involved in this process. We established and tested a model proposing that body surveillance and body shame are processes by which pubertal development and training may uniquely contribute to pathological eating by sampling 100 competitive female gymnasts via questionnaires. We further tested whether self-esteem moderated several model relationships. Results demonstrated that pubertal development was associated with higher levels of body surveillance, body shame and disordered eating; whereas greater time spent training was associated with lower levels of body shame and disordered eating. Finally higher self-esteem was associated with lower levels of disordered eating, less body surveillance, and less body shame. Potential risk and protective factors for the development of eating pathology in female gymnasts are discussed.