| This exploratory, descriptive study was conducted to determine if there is a pattern of eating disordered behavior associated with female marathon runners. Eating disordered behavior was identified in this study through the female marathoner's perception of eating habits by using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26). This survey was randomly mailed to female marathon runners. A convenient sample of runners, over 18 years of age in Southern Ontario, was identified as having completed at least one marathon in the last two years. Betty Neuman's Systems Model (1995) provided the conceptual framework for this study. The goal of this research was to describe the prevalence of eating disordered behavior in Southern Ontario, Canadian marathon running. It was found that a relationship does exist between disordered eating behaviors and female marathon runners in the population sample surveyed. |
