Information about a piece of news titled Can we prevent eating disorders?
Can we prevent eating disorders?
Intoduction
A new project, “Sport, health, body and achievement” is launched at Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, with generated assets from the Ministry of culture and church affairs and Olympiatoppen. The aim is to prevent eating disorders among young elite athletes.
New focus for the OSTRC
This three-year project has a total cost of 2.7 million NOK. Olympiatoppen contributes with 500.000 NOK per year. The remaining assets is contributed by the Ministry of culture and church, which has initiated the expansion of research at the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center. The focus has so far primarily been prevention of sports injuries. This is one of seven studies that are part of a larger project, “Healthy female sports”, which aims at preventing eating disorders and to make girl sports even healthier. This project was initiated by four federations: Track and field, orienteering, skiing and biathlon.
Prevalence of eating disorders
The project ”Sport, health, body and achievement” includes both boys and girls, and will in the first phase examine the prevalence of first grade students at Top-level Sports Colleges and Ski Colleges with symptoms of eating disorders. Seventeen schools/divisions containing about 730 students and 210 coaches are attending the project.
Comprehensive survey
Both coaches and students participated in the first survey during the fall 2008. The coaches are being asked for: Education, sports background, knowledge about nutrition, weight control and eating disorders, sexual harassment, self-esteem and their relation to the students. As for the students, we are examining the following: Different conditions in the sport (such as motivation, level and training volume), nutrition, relationship to coach, self-esteem, perfectionism, mental health, weight control practice, injuries and illness, menstruation, use of alcohol and drugs, sexual harassment and eating disorders.
Intervention
After this survey, half of the schools will random selected for participation in the intervention, while the second half will continue with regular lectures. At the schools participating in the intervention, all attending students/athletes will be offered additional education in different areas, considered important in preventing eating disorders, such as how development and growth affect young athletes’ performances, how to communicate well with the coach and other athletes, increased knowledge about sports nutrition for young athletes, as well as knowledge about eating disorders in relation to health and achievement. The same areas will also be the topic for the coaches at separate sessions. The teaching material will be created in January and February 2009.
Long-term aims
Following this intervention, we expect the coaches to experience an increased ability to help preventing eating disorders. They should promote healthy attitudes, discover early signs of eating disorders and contact the athletes they suspect have a problem.
Follow-up
The intervention will end in the spring 2010. At this time the students will once again answer the same questionnaire to reveal the numbers of students with symptoms of eating disorders and/or real eating disorders. Hopefully, the numbers of students/athletes suffering from eating disorders or those with symptoms of eating disorders have decreased during the intervention period.
The project is directed by Professor Jorunn Sundgot-Borgen together with PhD student Audun Eriksson and graduate student Marianne Martinsen.