The present study aimed to reveal whether the social appearance anxiety of the athletes engaging in individual and team sports predict their attitudes toward healthy eating and explore these variables by age, gender, and sports branch. A total of 316 athletes, 142 females and 174 males, participated in the research employing a correlational design. Among the participants, 166 were individual sports athletes, while 150 were team sports athletes. The data were collected using the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS) and the Attitude Toward Healthy Eating Scale (ATHES) and analyzed utilizing Pearson's correlation analysis, regression analysis, and t-test. The results showed a significant negative correlation between social appearance anxiety and attitudes toward healthy eating. Besides, the regression analysis yielded that social appearance anxiety significantly predicted attitudes toward healthy eating. In addition, there was a low, significant, and positive correlation between age and social appearance anxiety, while it was negative between age and attitudes toward healthy eating. Regarding gender, the social appearance anxiety of male athletes was found to be significantly higher than that of female athletes. Yet, attitudes toward healthy eating did not differ statistically by gender. Finally, it was discovered that the male individual sports athletes had significantly higher scores on the ATHES than their female counterparts. Overall, social appearance anxiety negatively predicts attitudes toward healthy eating; that is, increased social appearance anxiety significantly lowers attitudes toward healthy eating. Moreover, male athletes have greater external appearance concerns and, consequently, ignore healthy eating.
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Subjects | Sports Medicine |
Journal Section | Research Article |
Authors | |
Early Pub Date | December 23, 2021 |
Publication Date | December 30, 2021 |
Published in Issue | Year 2021 Volume: 19 Issue: 4 |