Young Athlete Body Project - Prevention of Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Disorders Among Adolescent Athletes

Summary

Body dissatisfaction is common among adolescents and is a well-established risk factor for the development of eating disorders. Young athletes may be particularly vulnerable because they are exposed to appearance-related pressures from both society and sport environments. Despite the high prevalence of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders among young athletes, there is a lack of evidence-based, large scale prevention programs specifically designed for young athletes.

The Young Athlete Body Project is an age- and sport-adapted version of the evidence-based Body Project, a cognitive dissonance-based prevention program that has been shown to reduce body dissatisfaction, internalization of appearance ideals, and eating disorder risk in adolescents and adults from diverse population groups. A pilot study of the Young Athlete Body Project among adolescent athletes demonstrated that the program was acceptable and perceived as beneficial by participants. The findings also indicated promising improvements in the internalization of the thin body ideal and increased awareness of appearance-related pressures, supporting the need for further evaluation in a larger randomized controlled trial.

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Young Athlete Body Project among adolescent athletes attending sports-specialized lower and upper secondary schools in Norway. The program aims to promote positive body image and body acceptance, reduce the internalization of appearance ideals, strengthen resistance to appearance-related pressures, and prevent body dissatisfaction and eating disorders among adolescent athletes.

The intervention program will contribute with new evidence-based knowledge on the effect of a prevention program targeting body dissatisfaction and eating disorders among adolescents athletes.

Conditions

• Eating Disorders in Adolescence
• Body Dissatisfaction
• Mental Health

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Young Athlete Body Project

The Young Athlete Body Project is a five-week school-based intervention consisting of two 60-minute digital educational sessions followed by three 60-minute instructor-led group workshops. The educational sessions cover (1) nutrition in relation to health, puberty, and athletic performance, and (2) social media, body ideals, and mental health in sport. The workshop component is delivered in small, gender-specific groups and is based on kognitive dissonance theory. Workshop activities focus on reducing internalization of appearance ideals, promoting positive self-talk, critically evaluating media influences, and developing strategies for managing body-related pressures in sport. The intervention is adapted for adolescent athletes and tailored to the sporting context. All workshops are delivered according to a standardized manual by trained instructors.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Oslo

  collaborator OTHER

• Norwegian School of Sport Sciences

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

13 Years

Max Age

17 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-02-01

Primary Completion

2027-05-30

Completion

2029-05-30

Countries

• Norway

Study Locations