Abstract des Autors

It is known that ballet dancers are particularly at risk from eating disorders and consequents like menstrual disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate eating behavior and nutritional status in ballet dancers with menstrual disorders. Twenty-three female ballet dancers with menstrual disorders (6 with amenorrhea, 17 with oligomenorrhea) of mean age 17.4±0.9 years from a Poznan ballet school, participated in the study. Nutritional status was evaluated by analyzing body composition using the BIA method (percentage of adipose tissue (FM%, kg), fat-free mass (FFM%, kg), and total body water (TBW %, l). Serum levels of leptin were also measured. Nutritional values were estimated by examining dietary records for seven consecutive days. Moreover, to describe eating behavior the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) was employed. The ballet dancers were characterized by low fat mass (18.4±3.2%), low serum leptin level (4.04±1.44ng/ml), and inadequately balanced daily diets. Furthermore, observed negative eating behaviors included cognitive restraint (12.1±5.4) and hunger (8.0±2.9). Disinhibition was rarely found (7.4±3.0), but was significantly (P<0.05) associated with increased body mass (r = 0.60), BMI (r = 0.41), amount of body fat (r = 0.45), waist circumference (r = 0.62), and hip circumference (r = 0.51). Also hunger was associated with increases in the body mass (r = 0.40), BMI (r = 0.34), fat mass (r = 0.40), hip circumference (r = 0.42) but decreases in fat-free body mass (r = -0.38) and total body water (r = -0.40). The data show that the nutritional habits and nutritional status of ballet dancers with menstrual disorders are poor. These results suggested that dancers should be monitored with the aim of preventing serious medical consequences, such as oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea. These results may play a role in future education efforts to provide more accurate knowledge of nutritional habits and the medical consequences of unbalanced daily diets. Verf.-Referat