David R Black - Physiological Screening Test

We would like to thank the NATA Research and Education Foundation for funding the research which helped us develop the PST tool to assist the many student-athletes who face their own struggle with eating disorders or disordered eating.

Thank you to the National Athletic Trainers Association and Healthy Learning for seeing a value in publishing this manual and testing protocol in order to make it available to the certified athletic trainers, sports dieticians, and other healthcare professionals who can use it to help their student-athletes.

Finally, a special thanks to Annie Lopez and Nick Cooke, our graduate students, who made us realize that the application of our research to the healthcare of student-athletes is a moral obligation.

Thank you to the reviewers for the National Athletic Trainers Association: Michael Brunet, PhD, ATC, STS, of Louisiana College and Toni Torres-McGehee, PhD, ATC, of the University of South Carolina.

In 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act established the legal rights of women to equally share in the privilege of participating in sport. It didnt take long for women to realize and take advantage of the new opportunities available to them. In my 1981 book, Healthcare and the Female Athlete, I stated that as those opportunities and numbers increase, it has become apparent that female athletes desperately require and deserve quality health and injury care. At the time, Im not sure that anyone anticipated the psychological pressures and stressors that would be placed on female athletes at all levels, factors that would push many of them toward eating disorders (ED) and disordered eating (DE). Furthermore, how little we knew about the unique healthcare concerns of girls and women participating in sports.

Over time, the problem of ED/DE has come to be recognized as very serious. In response, people are paying attention. Although it is difficult to obtain exact numbers, the NATA Position Statement: Preventing, Detecting, and Managing Disordered Eating in Athletes (2008) cites prevalence rates of disordered eating as high as 62% among female athletes and 33% among male athletes. It is well documented that chronic-eating disorders and disordered eating can lead to both adverse health conditions and decreased performance. In fact in some cases, these conditions also can be fatal. Although the scientific community has been interested in disordered eating among female athletes for some time, it is only recently that the story of these women has reached the public, as the struggles of high-profile Olympians and professional athletes has received attention in the media.

The Physiological Screening Test (PST) Manual for Eating Disorders/Disordered Eating Among Female Collegiate Athletes was developed after several years of research by a team of qualified professionals, who is well-aware of the psychological, physical, and nutritional world of the female athletea team with many years of experience in psychology, athletic training, sports dietetics, and statistics. Developed for athletic trainers and sports dieticians to use with their collegiate athletes to identify those student-athletes who may be at risk for eating disorders or disordered eating, the PST is the first screening instrument available to the practitioner that is specifically designed for athletes. The NATA is proud to have been a part of the initial research, through funding from the NATA Research and Education Foundation, and with continuing support reflected in NATAs cooperation in the publishing of this manual.