Participation by adolescents, especially males, in sports emphasizing weight, such as ballet, gymnastics and wrestling, is strongly associated with both unhealthful weight-control behaviors and steroid use, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota.
The researchers studied more than 4,500 adolescents from 31 public middle and high schools in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. The students were asked if in the past week or the past year they had engaged in self-induced vomiting, used diet pills or laxatives or engaged in any other extreme weight-control behavior.
The strongest positive associations between weight-related sport participation and unhealthful weight-control behaviors were found in males:
• 5.8 percent of males who reported participation in a weight-related sport had induced vomiting in the past week, compared with 0.9 percent of males who did not participate in a weight-related sport.
• Use of diuretics within the past year was reported by 4.2 percent of males in a weight-related sport compared with 0.8 percent who did not participate in weight-related sports.
For females, vomiting, laxative use and steroid use were significantly associated with weight-related sports participation:
• 6.6 percent of females who participated in a weight-related sport had vomited in the past week compared with 3.2 percent of females who did not.
• Steroid use was reported by 6.5 percent of females who perceived their sport as weight-related, compared to 2.3 percent of females who did not participate in a sport they perceived as weight-related.
“Preventive efforts, targeting parents, coaches and adolescents are needed to decrease this risk,” the researchers conclude.
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