DESCRIPTION OF THE ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS AND EVALUATION OF RISK OF SUFFERING DISORDERS OF FOOD CONDUCT IN SEMI-PROFESSIONAL DANCERS OF THE VALLARE ACADEMY

Introduction: According to previous research, the body requirements for dancers are very strict and sometimes they perform inappropriate practices with the aim of reducing their body weight. The prevalence of an Eating Disorder (ED) is higher among semi-professional dancers than in the general population, and higher among women than men. Semiprofessional dancers are subject to a body shaped for their line of work. Therefore, they require a special diet and certain physical characteristics. Objective: To describe the anthropometric characteristics and assess the risk of suffering from eating disorders in semiprofessional dancers from the VALLARE academy. Method: We evaluated the anthropometric characteristics such as weight, BMI, waist and hip circumferences, and body skinfolds of the dancers of the Vallare Academy. In addition, body image questionnaires, Rosemberg self-esteem scale, and Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) were applied to identify the risk of eating disorders. Results: Of all the dancers evaluated (n = 15), only 13% presented low weight according to their BMI. When evaluating the body image questionnaire, 27% were at risk of suffering an eating disorder. In terms of the self-esteem scale of Rosemberg, 80% presented low self-esteem. However, when evaluating the EAT questionnaire, no risk of eating disorders were found in any of the subjects. Conclusions: The results found show various risks of eating disorders, so multidisciplinary work is needed to strengthen critical points of the population such as: selfesteem, perception of body image and nutritional aspects in this study group, since it is considered a vulnerable population to have these conditions.