PSYCHOLOGICAL COMMITMENT TO EXERCISE AND EATING DISORDER SYMPTOMATOLOGY AMONG FEMALE AEROBIC INSTRUCTORS

Researchers have questioned aerobic instructors' status as healthy rol e models by suggesting that they are excessive exercisers who may be a t risk for developing eating disorders. To address this issue, 286 fem ale aerobic instructors (mean age = 34.1) completed the Commitment to Exercise Scale (CES) and the Bulimia (B), Body Dissatisfaction (BD), a nd Drive for Thinness (DT) subscales of the Eating Disorder Inventory- 2 (EDI-2). Instructors scored low on the CES (M = 62.24) relative to o ther high-exercising populations. Scores on the EDI-2 subscales were a lso low compared to published norms (M = .78, 7.8, and 3.2 for B, ED, and DT, respectively). Simple correlations revealed that the CES was r elated to all three EDI-2 subscales (rs ranged from .18 to .30; ps < . 01). Discussion focuses on factors that may account for instructors' h ealthy attitudes toward exercise and eating, and practical implication s for sport psychologists who work with fitness instructors.