[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-405020-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-405020-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","bodybuilders-develop-binge-eating-disorders-post-competition-a-survey","Bodybuilders Develop Binge Eating Disorders Post - Competition: A Survey","","Extended periods of restrictive dieting are a common practice among bodybuilders preparing for competitions, yet the post-competition phase often triggers binge eating. The survey and accompanying discussion link restrictive pre-contest dieting to binge-type behaviors, weight gain, and mood deterioration, including depression. Evidence from studies and explained endocrine mechanisms (leptin reduction, ghrelin increase, metabolic adaptation) clarifies why appetite rebounds. After the show, excess calories can rapidly accumulate as fat, sometimes leading to post-starvation obesity.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/","Healthcare",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/bodybuilders-develop-binge-eating-disorders-post-competition-a-survey/405020/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/bodybuilders-develop-binge-eating-disorders-post-competition-a-survey/405020.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"gewufjwa","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-09-27",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",10,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why does restrictive dieting before a bodybuilding competition increase the risk of binge eating afterward?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Long calorie restriction increases food preoccupation and alters endocrine signals. Reduced leptin and elevated ghrelin can drive appetite rebound, and metabolic adaptation can increase hunger when eating resumes.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What happens to the body’s metabolism after the competition when competitors binge?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"After prolonged dieting, excess calories are stored primarily as fat. The period is described as “post-starvation obesity,” and rapid weight gain can occur if binge eating continues.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does the document explain the emotional impact of post-competition binge eating?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It notes that many ex-competitors report struggling with a healthy relationship with food and body image. Online experiences and forum discussions are presented as examples of ongoing difficulty after the show.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},405020,1790766094,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,110,115,120,123,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":55,"slug":125},"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":107,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},3985747882900,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Bodybuilders Develop Binge Eating Disorders Post  \nCompetition: A Survey  \nTag Words: Bodybuilding, Eating Disorders, Binge Eating Disorders, Post Show Blues,  \nDieting, Post Comp Binge, Competition Prep, Restrictive dieting, depression, Weight gain Authors: Kelly Davidson, Allison Mandell and Julie M. Fagan Ph.D.  \nSummary: Extended periods of restrictive dieting is a common practice amongst bodybuilders preparing for a competition. We have found that post competition, bodybuilders fall into a trap of binge eating which leads to weight gain and depression. By conducting and publishing our survey results which demonstrate this link between binge eating behaviors and post competition, we hope to increase awareness of this really negative aspect of bodybuilding competition.  \nVideo Link: [https://youtu.be/T1USTxBWaVg](https://youtu.be/T1USTxBWaVg)  \nThe Issue: How Pre-Contest Restrictive Dieting Leads to Binge Eating Disorders (KD) Preparing for a bodybuilding competition takes a lot of time and dedication. A typical competition preparation starts 12 to 20 weeks before the show day in order to shed the body fat and reveal the muscle definition underneath for the stage. People who have never competed before don’t realize the pitfalls and dangers of significant caloric restriction leading up to show day. Competitors have been reported to binge eat post competition; a practice that stays with them for weeks to months to come.  \nBodybuilding (KD)  \nBodybuilding competitions have been around since the 1890s and has gained popularity over the past few decades. With the boom of social media, especially Instagram, the sport of bodybuilding has gained even more new followers. Federations have created more and more divisions in order to appeal to a bigger group of people. In the earlier years, there was only men’s bodybuilding and women’s bodybuilding. Now there is women’s bikini, figure, fitness, physique, and bodybuilding as well as men’s physique, classic physique, and bodybuilding. Many competitors’ pages feature post after post of prepared meals, fasted cardio, posing in bathing suits, and this seemingly “healthy” lifestyle. People are attracted to this sport which is glamorized on social media.  \nCompetition Preparation (KD)  \nIn preparation for a show, the competitor must typically follow a heavily restricted diet and a grueling training schedule which keeps them in the gym for 3-4 hours a day. Weeks leading into the competition, cravings intensify as their bodies respond to the calorie deficit the body is going through. Once the day has come to step on the stage and all their hard work could be displayed, whatever the outcome is, the celebration of the end of the diet follows immediately afterwards. Long periods of restrictive dieting are proven to increase food preoccupation (1) . A study conducted on mice showed that feeding behaviors changed when a solid high fat palatable diet was introduced (baseline phase), withdrawn for 7 days (replacement phase), then reintroduced  \n(refeeding phase) (2). The results of the study showed that mice exhibited binge-like behaviors when the HFD was reintroduced after the withdrawal phase as there was a significant increase in the mean caloric intake (2). Another study conducted on mice found that periods of restriction from sugar increased the dopamine drive to eat sugar by 30%(3) . This study can help explain why a competitor may experience binge eating post competition as the whole process of competition preparation is a withdrawal period from highly palatable food. Decreased fat mass inan individual triggers the body’s homeostatic endocrine response as it is a sign the body is starving (4). As a result, there is a decreased release of leptin, which is the hormone responsible for fullness and satiety released by adipose tissue (4). With the decrease in leptin, the anorexigenic hormone, the antagonistic response is the increase in ghrelin, the orexigenic hormone, which stimulates appetite (5).","cbCaid81wwXx7Shf","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaid81wwXx7Shf","pdf",216175,17,"English","# The Issue: How Pre-Contest Restrictive Dieting Leads to Binge Eating Disorders\n## Bodybuilding\n## Competition Preparation\n# Immediate Fat Accumulation Following the Contest","[{\"question\":\"Why does restrictive dieting before a bodybuilding competition increase the risk of binge eating afterward?\",\"answer\":\"Long calorie restriction increases food preoccupation and alters endocrine signals. Reduced leptin and elevated ghrelin can drive appetite rebound, and metabolic adaptation can increase hunger when eating resumes.\"},{\"question\":\"What happens to the body’s metabolism after the competition when competitors binge?\",\"answer\":\"After prolonged dieting, excess calories are stored primarily as fat. The period is described as “post-starvation obesity,” and rapid weight gain can occur if binge eating continues.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the document explain the emotional impact of post-competition binge eating?\",\"answer\":\"It notes that many ex-competitors report struggling with a healthy relationship with food and body image. Online experiences and forum discussions are presented as examples of ongoing difficulty after the show.\"}]","Bodybuilders Develop Binge Eating Disorders Post - Competition: A Survey | PDF",1790553237,43]