Comparison of Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-2) Scores of Male Bodybuilders to the Male College Student Subgroup

Abstract

The intensity and effort of bodybuilding training suggest an overinvestment in body shape and physical appearance, which has been suggested to be a risk factor for developing eating disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of eating disorder tendencies among a sample of collegiate male bodybuilders (BB, n = 68) and controls (C, n = 50) (nonbodybuilders), using the Eating Disorders Inventory 2 (EDI-2). T tests were used to test the hypothesis that bodybuilders' scores would be higher than those of controls. The mean scores on the EDI-2 did not indicate the presence of eating disorder tendencies for either group. Controls scored significantly higher than bodybuilders on the Body Dissatisfaction scale. Results indicate that when the EDI-2 is used, college-age male bodybuilders are not shown to be more likely to have eating disorders than a group of college-age male controls.