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Review Article
Body image concerns, dieting behavior, and eating disorder risk of Kenyan adolescent female athletes
1 Lecturer, Department of Health Sciences, Machakos University, Machakos, Kenya
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Esther Nduku Muia
Machakos University, Machakos, Wote Road, P.O. Box 136-90100, Machakos,
Kenya
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Article ID: 100032P16EM2025
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Muia EN. Body image concerns, dieting behavior, and eating disorder risk of Kenyan adolescent female athletes. Edorium J Public Health 2025;10(2):1–9.ABSTRACT
Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate body image concerns, dieting behaviors, and eating disorder risk among adolescent female athletes (n=61) and non-athletes (n=49) in Kenya.
Methods: Eating disorder risk was assessed using the Eating Disorder Inventory version 3 (EDI-3), the EDI-3 referral form assessed pathogenic weight control measures (PWCM), and a figure rating scale (FRS) assessed body image concerns.
Results: Athletes and non-athletes had similar raw scores across all EDI-3 subscales. More athletes than non-athletes had a body mass index (BMI) < 17.5 kg/m2 (16.1 vs. 0%, OR = 0.8, 95% CI 0.7–0.9, p=0.004) of which only half of these athletes (n=5, 8.2%) perceived themselves to be underweight. A sub-sample of athletes (16.4%) and non-athletes (26.5%) perceived themselves to be overweight while only 1.8% athletes and 11.1% non-athletes were classified as overweight according to body mass index cut-offs. Most (80.9%) participants desired a leaner body image, with 56% desiring a body image equivalent to a BMI < 17.5 kg/m2. Top foods restricted when trying to lose weight included dietary fats, carbohydrate rich foods, and dairy foods. Both groups reported to use PWCM; however, more athletes than non-athletes used PWCM (52.5% vs. 32.6%, p=0.031).
Conclusion: Kenyan adolescent athletes and non-athletes presented with body image dissatisfaction, extreme dieting behavior, and at risk of an eating disorder. These findings highlight the need for a healthy eating and body image intervention program among this cohort of Kenyan adolescents and their entourage.
Keywords: Body image, Disordered eating behavior, Eating disorder, Weight control
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge Hattie Wright, V.O. Onywera, and E.N. Kuria for their support through the conception, data collection phase and critical review of the project proposal as my PhD supervisors. I acknowledge and thank the authorities of the schools, including the principals, teachers, and coaches of each school, for their assistance in administration of the questionnaires. I am also grateful to all the students who accepted to participate in this research. Finally, I would like to thank Alice Wambui, Meda, and Loice Chepchumba for their help with data collection.
Author ContributionsEsther Nduku Muia - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guaranter of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthor declares no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2025 Esther Nduku Muia. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
