Prof. Silvia Camporesi

I am very pleased to announce the first output of a new line of research with Danielle Mercado, PhD candidate in Biomedical Ethics and Law at KU Leuven and MAiSI alumna, in collaboration with Prof. Laurence Claes and Dr Olivia Howe.

As part of her PhD project in Sports Medicine and Ethics, Danielle is investigating elite athletes’ perspectives and subjective, values with the aim to understand which factors may contribute to the development of disordered eating disorders, and/or possibly constitute a barriers to help-seeking, diagnosis and treatment in this population.

The first research output resulting from Danielle’s PhD project is a scoping review on ‘Sport-Specific Factors and Values Leading to Normalisation of Disordered Eating Behaviours in Elite Sport’, published for the European Eating Disorder Review. Link here:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42604599

and abstract below.

For access to the full paper please send a request to: silvia.camporesi@kuleuven.be, or to: danielle.mercado@kuleuven.be

Stay tuned for more research outputs from Danielle Mercado in this space, with a particular focus on cycling in Belgium.

#eatingdisorders #disorderedeatingbehaviours #sport #values #norms #sport #cycling

Abstract

Background: Disordered eating behaviours (DEBs) can be normalised by elite sports values and norms, obscuring risk for DEBs.

Objectives: This scoping review mapped (1) how DEBs are conceptualised in elite sport, (2) the values, norms, and institutional mechanisms that normalise them, and (3) the barriers that obstruct recognition and care.

Methods: The search was conducted using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist, encompassing eight databases with no date limits. A protocol was registered; 3497 records were screened (1153 duplicates were removed), 283 full texts were reviewed, and 128 studies were included.

Results: Study designs are largely crosssectional, based on self-report, and variably specific to particular sports. (1) DEBs are framed as a continuum ranging from functional practices to pathology, with tipping points linked to seasonality, injury and selection processes. (2) Normalisation mechanisms of DEBs stem from sports-specific values and norms, constituting an elite sporting ethic, body ideals, coach/team culture, institutional surveillance and public/media scrutiny. (3) Barriers for assessment and help-seeking include the moralisation of restrictive behaviours, stigma, ‘toughness’ norms, knowledge gaps, coach gatekeeping, organisational constraints and gendered assumptions.

Conclusions: System-level safeguards are needed and athlete-centred, protective initiatives should be prioritised over performance-oriented outcomes. Future research should prioritise longitudinal designs, elite sports-sensitive measures, and equity-oriented sampling.

Keywords: disordered eating; disordered eating in sport; eating disorders; elite level pressures; elite sport culture; normalisation; values.