Nutritional Trends Among Athletes: The Predictive Effect of Body Image Concerns

This study aims to evaluate the predictive role of social physical anxiety in hedonistic hunger and intuitive eating among athlete participants enrolled in sports science faculties. The study sample consisted of a total of 262 participants, including 112 women and 150 men, all of whom were enrolled in sports science faculties and had a history of competitive sports. The data collection tools included a personal information form, the “Social Body Image Anxiety Scale,” the “Food Power Scale,” and the “Intuitive Eating Scale.” After confirming that the collected data met the normality assumption, Pearson correlation was used to assess the relationships between variables, and regression analysis was employed to determine the effect. According to the findings, there is a positive and significant relationship between social body image anxiety and hedonic hunger. In contrast, a negative but statistically insignificant relationship was found between social body image anxiety and intuitive eating. Furthermore, the results of the regression analysis indicate that social body image anxiety significantly predicts food power.It can be stated that social body image anxiety is a potential risk factor that may increase hedonistic hunger and, although not statistically significant, intuitive eating tendencies among athletes. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the development of athletes’ physical and psychological performance from a socio-psychological perspective.