TY - JOUR
T1 - A systematic review of the prevalence of disordered eating in fitness professionals
AU - Carroll, Michelle
AU - Newman, Emily
AU - Cradock, Kevin
AU - Bruha, Lauren
AU - Sharpe, Helen
N1 - Michelle Carroll: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Project administration, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization. Emily Newman: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Methodology, Data curation, Conceptualization. Kevin Cradock: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Methodology, Data curation, Conceptualization. Lauren Bruha: Validation, Methodology, Data curation. Helen Sharpe: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Methodology, Data curation, Conceptualization.
PY - 2025/12
Y1 - 2025/12
N2 - Disordered eating (DE) is becoming increasingly prevalent, and fitness professionals may be at elevated risk due to profession-specific pressures such as increased physique-focus and emphasis on exercise. This review aimed to synthesise existing evidence surrounding the prevalence of DE amongst fitness professionals. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) process. The databases Ovid (EMBASE, MEDLine, PsycINFO), CINAHL, Prospero, Scopus, Web of Science and ProQuest were searched for studies published between 2004 and 2024. Studies were included if they assessed for DE in fitness professionals using a DE assessment instrument with specific cut-off scores. A total of nine studies, represented in 14 articles were included in the review. High levels of DE were evident amongst fitness professionals (personal trainers, group fitness instructors). Personal trainers exhibited higher rates compared to other fitness professionals, whilst high-performance coaches showed the lowest. Methodological inconsistencies, such as variation in assessment tools and small sample sizes reduce the generalisability of findings. However, findings suggest that DE is a concern amongst fitness professionals and should be addressed by appropriate education and screening programmes.
AB - Disordered eating (DE) is becoming increasingly prevalent, and fitness professionals may be at elevated risk due to profession-specific pressures such as increased physique-focus and emphasis on exercise. This review aimed to synthesise existing evidence surrounding the prevalence of DE amongst fitness professionals. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) process. The databases Ovid (EMBASE, MEDLine, PsycINFO), CINAHL, Prospero, Scopus, Web of Science and ProQuest were searched for studies published between 2004 and 2024. Studies were included if they assessed for DE in fitness professionals using a DE assessment instrument with specific cut-off scores. A total of nine studies, represented in 14 articles were included in the review. High levels of DE were evident amongst fitness professionals (personal trainers, group fitness instructors). Personal trainers exhibited higher rates compared to other fitness professionals, whilst high-performance coaches showed the lowest. Methodological inconsistencies, such as variation in assessment tools and small sample sizes reduce the generalisability of findings. However, findings suggest that DE is a concern amongst fitness professionals and should be addressed by appropriate education and screening programmes.
KW - disordered eating
KW - fitness professionals
UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/eating-behaviors
U2 - 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2025.102045
DO - 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2025.102045
M3 - Article
SN - 1471-0153
VL - 59
SP - 1
EP - 9
JO - Eating Behaviors
JF - Eating Behaviors
M1 - 102045
ER -