Eating disorders can lead to death. The prevalence of subclinical and
eating disorders is high among female athletes, and the prevalence of
eating disorders is higher among female athletes than nonathletes. Ath
letes competing in sports where leanness or a specific bodyweight is c
onsidered important are more prone to develop eating disorders than at
hletes competing in sports where these factors are considered less imp
ortant. It appears necessary to examine true eating disorders, the sub
clinical disorders and the range of behaviours and attitudes associate
d with eating disturbances in athletes, to learn how these clinical an
d subclinical disorders are related. Because of methodological weaknes
ses in the existing studies, including deficient description of the po
pulations studied and the methods of data collection, the best instrum
ent or interview method is not known. Therefore, more research on athl
etes and eating disorders is needed. Suggestions of the possible sport
specific risk factors associated with the development of eating disor
ders in athletes exist, but large scale longitudinal studies are neede
d to learn more about risk factors and the aetiology of eating disorde
rs in athletes at different competitive levels and within different sp
orts. Further studies are required on the short and long term effects
of eating disorders on athletes' health and athletic performance.