Author Identifier (ORCID)
Valeria Varea: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3572-4976
Dawn Penney: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2000-8953
Victoria Evans: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7229-8828
Abstract
Purpose – Athletes are more likely to experience eating and exercise disorders than non-athletes. Little is known about the incidence of eating and exercise disorders amongst non-elite participants, many of whom participate outside of club governance and support structures. The aim of this paper is to explore eating and exercise attitudes and behaviours amongst participants in both formal and informal sport and, in so doing, generate insights to inform future educational initiatives that seek to promote healthy and active lifestyles. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was completed by 110 participants, 9 of whom were interviewed for the second phase of the study. Questions related to sport participation, eating choices, attitudes, feelings and behaviours regarding eating and exercise and probed issues of self (dis)satisfaction with their lives and appearance. Findings – Although 69% of participants consider themselves to be healthy and 62% consider themselves fit, only a minority (26%) were satisfied with their body weight and body shape. Furthermore, most participants (67%) reported feeling some level of anxiety or distress if they did not have access to food that they consider to be healthy, and 88% reported feeling some guilt after eating food they consider to be unhealthy. Originality/value – With literature relating to eating and exercise attitudes and behaviours having focussed mainly on formal sport participation and patterns of participation changing, studies that direct attention to informal sport participation are needed. Results indicate the need for educational initiatives to promote healthy engagement with exercise and food amongst everyday athletes.
Keywords
Athlete education, food, orthorexia, physical activity
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
Volume
126
Issue
1
Publication Title
Health Education
Publisher
Emerald
School
School of Education
RAS ID
83711
Funders
Edith Cowan University
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
First Page
61
Last Page
76
Comments
Varea, V., O’Hara, E., Penney, D., & Evans, V. (2026). Sport participation and the pursuit of active and healthy lifestyles: Everyday athletes’ relationships with eating and exercise. Health Education, 126(1), 61-76. https://doi.org/10.1108/HE-09-2024-0108