@article{ref1,
title="A preliminary survey of dieting, body dissatisfaction, and eating problems among high school cheerleaders",
journal="Journal of school health",
year="2004",
author="Thompson, Sharon H. and Digsby, Sohailla",
volume="74",
number="3",
pages="85-90",
abstract="Cheerleading, a staple of American schools, has received little attention in scholarly research. This sport is considered &quot;high risk&quot; for development of eating disorders; therefore, female, high school cheerleaders (n = 156, mean age = 15.43 years) from the southeastern region were surveyed in this preliminary study to determine rates of dieting, body dissatisfaction, and eating problems. Almost one-half of the girls (46%) indicated they were currently trying to lose weight. Body dissatisfaction was significant by race [chi 2 (2, n = 153) = 9.270, p = .010] and was reported by 50% and 73.5% of Black and White girls, respectively. About 13% of girls had EAT-26 scores of 20 or higher (possible eating problems). On the Orientation to Exercise Questionnaire, a measure of subclinical eating disorders, those with eating problems (EAT-26 score of > or = 20) had significantly higher scores (M = 87.65, p = .0002) than those without problems (M = 76.05). Furthermore, scores increased by 69% for each unit increase in BMI (p = .0481, slope = +.6902). The cheerleaders did not appear at higher risk for eating problems than adolescent girls in general, but this age group is considered at &quot;high risk&quot; for eating disorders, so those who work with cheerleaders should be aware of warning signs.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0022-4391",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}