[Body image of the male athlete. A study of the psychological health of wrestlers and rowers of the lower weight class].

The present study reports findings concerning the body-experience of male athletes. 25 wrestlers and 59 rowers in the lower weight categories were investigated using the questionnaire for evaluation of body-experience "Fragebogen zur Beurteilung des eigenen Körpers--FBK" (Strauss u. Appelt, 1983). Due to nature of their sports, these men are particularly subject to a constant pressure to maintain a low body weight. In 31% of the subjects the FBK profiles were indicative of disturbances of body-image and body-experience. This subgroup also demonstrated multiple pathologically elevated scores in the personality questionnaire "Freiburger Persönlichkeitsinventar" (Fahrenberger et al. 1984) and the Eating-Disorder-Inventory (Garner et al. 1983). Low-weight wrestlers and rowers should be considered a high-risk male population for body-image disturbances and other psychological disorders. The casual relationship between the specific sport and the development of an body-image disorder is discussed.