The relationship between eating disorders and personality in physically active women

The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between personality fa ctors, self-reported eating disorders, type of physical activity, level of sport competition and hours spent on physical activity each, week among phy sically active non-athletes and athletes. A total of 591 high school women participated in the study. The mean age was 19 during the data collection. Scores were obtained on the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) and a qu estionnaire concerning eating disorders (1) and physical activity, All diag noses were based upon the DSM-IV criteria for anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimi a nervosa (BN) and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS). The pre valence of AN was 1.5%, BN 2.0'%, AN+BN 0.3% and EDNOS 12.9%. The prevalenc e of eating disorders (ED) was highest among physically active non-athletes who were members of fitness clubs (odds ratio (OR)=1.86, 95% CI: 1.08-2.79 ). However, there was no relationship between the prevalence of eating diso rders and the level of sport competition or time spent on physical activity . The results showed that women with eating disorders scored higher in anxi ety, hostility and detachment, and lower ill socialisation than the women w ithout eating disorders. The results indicated that individuals with certai n personality characteristics had a higher risk for being classified with E D, but it does not seem to be related to whether they are physically active or not. The findings in this study may support the hypothesis that partici pating in physical activity can have some positive psychological effects, b ut this does not necessarily apply to patients with AN and BN. ED may have a biological/genetic explanation according to Eysenck's personality theory.