Maladaptive eating attitudes of elite and amateur Turkish dancers: are they at risk?

The aims of this study were to investigate whether Turkish dancers are at risk of eating disorders, and to identify any gender and elite vs. amateur differences. The study involved 100 participants (64 females and 36 males) divided into three groups: 6lite dancers, amateur dancers and controls. The elite dancers were the members of the State Conservatoire; the amateur dancers were university students attending university dance clubs; the control group consisted of university students who were not members of dance clubs. All of the participants completed the Eating Attitude Test and a questionnaire about eating habits. Both the elite and amateur dancers had more pathological eating attitudes than the controls. Females had more problematic eating attitudes than males. Both elite and amateur female Turkish dancers may be at risk for disordered eating. The implications for prevention are discussed.