Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of the HADAS Program for the Prevention of Eating Disorders in Adolescent Female Athletes, Coaches, and Families.
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: The HADAS Program.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Eating Disorders, Body Image Dissatisfaction. Basic parameters: 12 years — 16 years · Female.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Spain
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
A Program for the Prevention of ED in Adolescent Female Athletes, the HADAS: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial Study
Overview
Adolescent female athletes in aesthetic sports disciplines (such as rhythmic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, synchronized swimming, and figure skating) face a complex interaction between general sociocultural beauty pressures and sport-specific aesthetic demands (e.g., the 'slim to win' culture and weight-focused performance expectations). These combined pressures significantly increase their risk of developing body dissatisfaction and eating disorders (EDs). To address these systemic vulnerabilities, the HADAS Program (Habits, Eating, Sports, Adolescents, and Health) was developed as a multi-level, synchronized psychoeducational intervention designed to target the complete "sports triangle": adolescent female athletes, their technical coaches, and their immediate family members. The primary objective of this cluster randomized controlled trial (cluster RCT) is to evaluate the efficacy of the HADAS Program in reducing eating disorder risk (EAT-26) and body image dissatisfaction (BSQ-34) among competitive adolescent female athletes aged 12 to 16 years. Sports clubs are randomly assigned to either the Experimental Group (receiving the HADAS intervention) or a Waitlist Control Group (maintaining standard training). The program includes 5 interactive group sessions for athletes, 4 reflective workshops for coaches, and 2 structured sessions for family members, all supported by cohort-specific workbooks. Outcomes are evaluated across four longitudinal time points: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).
Interventions
- Behavioral The HADAS Program
A synchronized, multi-level psychoeducational prevention program designed to target eating disorder risk and body image dissatisfaction across the sports triangle (athletes, coaches, and families). Content focuses on media literacy, healthy life habits, emotional management, deconstructing body-weight myths in aesthetic sports, and promoting autonomy-supportive coaching and family environments
Primary outcome measures
- Eating Disorder Risk and Symptomatology [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
- Body Image Dissatisfaction [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
Secondary outcome measures (11)
- Psychological Well-Being [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
- Life Satisfaction [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
- Competitive Anxiety [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
- Perfectionism in sports [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
- Appearance awareness on social networks [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
- Critical Thinking about Media [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
- General knowledge about nutrition in adolescents [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
- Coach controlling behaviors [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
- Leadership style in sport [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
- Coach Eating Disorder Literacy and Warning Signs Knowledge [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
- Parental Eating Disorder Literacy and Warning Signs Knowledge [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Athletes: Female gender; aged between 12 and 16 years old; actively possessing a formal federation license in an aesthetic sport discipline (e.g., rhythmic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, synchronized swimming, figure skating) within Spain; providing signed informed assent concurrently with written informed consent from parents/legal representatives; and presenting no active, formal clinical diagnosis of an eating disorder (ED).
- Coaches: Serving as a primary trainer or technical staff member within the participating sports club; and providing written informed consent.
- Family Members: Operating as the primary parent, guardian, or legal representative of an included athlete; and providing written informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
- Athletes: Presenting a current, formal clinical diagnosis of an eating disorder (e.g., Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, or ARFID) at baseline (T0); or refusal to provide informed assent or parental consent.
- Non-compliance or failure to provide signed informed consent from coaches or primary legal guardians.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Triple blind
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
Study locations
Spain · 1 center
- Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche - Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health — Elche
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07750301 · DCC.ELZ.251124 · https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.I