The intersection of physical activity type and gender in patterns of disordered eating

Although previous research has linked disordered eating to physical activity involvement, more recent studies suggest that sports participation may be protective against disordered eating; however, due to inconsistent findings on how physical activity affects disordered eating and limited research comparing types of physical activity across weight control behaviours, our aim was to validate physical activity categorization across disordered eating components in both men and women. In this online study, 209 men and 539 women completed questionnaires assessing various components of disordered eating and overall physical activity participation. Pearson correlation coefficients, independent samples t-tests, multiple response crosstabulations, and linear regressions were calculated to achieve the aims of this study. Participation in various types of physical activity significantly predicted various components of disordered eating attitudes, behaviours, and cognitions. Specifically, for women, purging and restricting eating were associated with participation in ball games, while a focus on muscle building was associated with both ball games and weight-class physical activity. For men, body dissatisfaction and excessive exercise were associated with weight-class physical activity participation, while cognitive restraint and muscle building were related to aesthetic sports participation. Purging was associated with both aesthetic and weight-class physical activity, whereas restricting eating was related to weight-class physical activity and ball games. These inconsistencies underscore the need for further research to fully elucidate the relationship between participation in different types of physical activity and the various components of disordered eating.