Mindful Eating Under Pressure in Combat Sport: A Single-Case Study of an Adolescent Athlete

Merve Alpay^1*zekihan hazar²Kürşat Hazar¹Réka Erika Kovács³Szilvia boros³

• ¹Osmaniye Korkut Ata University, Osmaniye, Türkiye
• ²Physical Education and Sports Teaching. Faculty of Sports Sciences. Ağrı Ibrahim Çeçen University. Ağrı, Türkiye, ağrı, Türkiye
• ³Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, Psychology and Health Management, Széchenyi University, Györ, Hungary, györ, Hungary

Abstract Most combat athletes try to compete in a weight class lower than their comfortable body weight, which necessitates the implementation of rapid weight loss strategies before the competition. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine closely how mindful eating intervention influences the eating behavior of a kickboxer 10 days before the competition. Methods: A mindful intervention was conducted. A mixed method was used, in which data was collected from two semi-structured interviews and four scales (Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), and Mindful Eating Scale (MEQ-30). The first semi-structured interview and four scales were administered before the intervention process, and the last interview was conducted after the competition. 10 days before the competition, 10 sessions of "mindful raisin eating" exercise, each lasting 10 minutes, were performed. The scores obtained from the scales were calculated manually. The data collected from semi-structured interviews were analyzed using the descriptive analysis method. Results: According to the administered 4 scales initially, the athlete's average scores were (X̄ =16) on the Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26), (X̄ =3.125) on the "shape concern" sub-dimension of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), (X̄ =4) on the Emotional Eating sub-dimension of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), and (X̄ =2.5) on both the "awareness" and "eating control" sub-dimensions of the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ-30). Qualitative data showed,positive improvements were detected in eating attitudes and behaviors, stress management, perceived performance, and body image, respectively. During the mindful eating exercises, she lost approximately 2.4 kg (~3.9% of her body weight) without experiencing stress on weigh-in day. She also reported that focusing on mindful eating helped her avoid unhealthy foods and made her feel safe and calm. Conclusions: It was stated by the athlete that there were positive improvements in eating attitudes and behaviors, level of coping with stress, perceived performance and body perception. Keywords: Mindfulness intervention, Combat sports, Mindful eating, Weight control, Under pressure, Single-case study