THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EATING DISORDERS AND RUNNING IN WOMEN

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which eating disorders in women are related to a general tendency toward addiction, addiction to running, and level of running intensity. A stratified sa mple of 265 women runners/nonrunners (ages 20-35) included 66 nonrunne rs, 69 low-level runners, 67 medium-level runners, and 63 high-intensi ty runners. The women were weighed, measured, and had body fat and 4-d ay nutritional intake assessed. A questionnaire included scales to ass ess psychological and behavior traits common in women with anorexia (A N) and/or bulimia, general addiction, and running addiction. ANCOVA wi th age and income as covariates and multiple regression analyses were used. There were significant differences among the groups on the eatin g disorder scores anti percent body fat with higher level runners scor ing higher on eating disorder measures and running addiction and lower on body fat. A major finding for those providing health care for wome n was that 25% of the women who ran >30 miles/week had Eating Attitude Test scores indicating a high risk for anorexia. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.