Title page for ETD etd-44371193973981

Type of Document

Master's Thesis

Author

Spelke, Amy Elaine Mulholland

URN

etd-44371193973981

Title

Winning at All Costs?: The Weight-Control Behaviors of Student Athletes.

Degree

Master of Arts

Department

Accounting and Information Systems

Advisory Committee

Advisor Name	Title
Joan B. Hirt	Committee Chair
Janice McBee	none
Jerry Via	none

Keywords

weight loss
weight gain
weight-control behaviors
athletes health

Date of Defense

1997-03-27

Availability

unrestricted

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore

student athletes' weight-control behaviors.

Data consisted of student athletes' responses

to a modified version of the Michigan State

Weight-Control Survey (Dummer, Rosen,

Heusner, Roberts, & Counsilman, 1987).

Specifically, the study was designed to

explore the following research hypotheses: 1.

There is no significant relationship between

the weight-control behaviors of athletes

competing in sports with weight restrictions

(e.g., wrestling) and sports without weight

restrictions (e.g., tennis). 2. There is no

significant relationship between the

weight-control behaviors of athletes

competing in sports with subjective judging

(e.g., diving) and sports with objective

scoring (e.g., swimming). 3. There is no

significant relationship between the

weight-control behaviors of male athletes and

female athletes. The sample was drawn from

intact athletic teams at the university under

study. All members of the selected teams

were invited to participate. The results of this

research contributed to both practice and

research. Athletic department staff and

coaches, student affairs practitioners, and

health care practitioners were made more

aware of weight-control issues for athletes

and might design programs and services to

address the issue. The study also lays the

groundwork for future research. Scholars

may wish to examine other elements of sport

(e.g., level of competition, seasonal

demands) and their effects on the

weight-control behaviors of athletes. The

results revealed that there is a significant

relationship between weight-control

behaviors and the type of weight restrictions

(weight restricted versus non-weight

restricted) a sport places on athletes (p <

.05). There is also a significant relationship

between the sex of athletes and the

weight-control behavior that they engage in

(P < .05). The relationship between the

weight-control behaviors and the type of

judging (subjective versus objective scoring)

involved in the sport was also examined.

Though the relationship was not significant at

the p = .05 level, it was significant at the p =

.1 level. The results of this research

addressed an existing gap in the current body

of knowledge. There is very little research

about weight-control behaviors of athletes in

specific groups of sports. Better

understanding the demands that different

types of sports place on athletes may enable

future scholars and practitioners to better

serve the population.

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