The Weight of Victory: Exploring Short- and Long-term Health Outcomes in Former Male & Female Elite Athletes from Weight-sensitive Sports

The health of former elite athletes has been identified as a critical research gap where there is limited knowledge about both short- and long-term consequences after ending their careers. The transition phase from an active elite career to everyday life has been shown to be particularly problematic, yet this issue has been little studied among former Norwegian elite athletes. Furthermore, questions remain regarding the health of athletes from weight-sensitive sports, such as weight-class, aesthetic, and certain endurance sports. These athletes face specific challenges related to maintaining a certain physique and frequent changes in body weight during their active careers. This group has been shown to be vulnerable to a range of problematic health outcomes related to low energy availability, and little is known about the long-term effects of a career involving this. Therefore, the overall purpose of the project is to map the mental and physical health of former elite athletes. At the same time, there will be a particular focus on the differences between weight-sensitive and less weight-sensitive sports, different types of sports, gender, as well as previous dieting and eating behaviors.

NCT Number	NCT06801210
Lead Sponsor	Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
Conditions	Musculoskeletal Health, Fertility, Mental Health, Quality of Life, Body Image, Disordered Eating
Enrollment	1,500 participants
Start Date	2025-01-30
Primary Completion	2025-06-01 (estimated)
Study Completion	2025-06-30 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-01-30