Wednesday 03/4/2024
PHOTO: Wilhelm Gunkel
Text: Laura Torrens y Lina Camacho
Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, right? We’ve all been told time and again that regular exercise is beneficial for our physical and mental health. And yes, for the most part, that’s true. But what happens when exercise becomes more than just a healthy activity and turns into a compulsive behavior?
In a recent study by Cosh, S., Loi, N., and McNeil, D. (2023) for the Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, decisive results have been published to better understand compulsive exercise and its consequences for mental and physical health.
Excessive exercise: how to identify it?
We speak of CE when someone feels a constant need to exercise excessively, dedicating a lot of time to it and neglecting other important areas of their life. It is described as an obsession with staying active that can have a significant impact on overall health and well-being.
What is Exercise compulsion (EC)?
Dittmer, Jacobi, and Voderholzer (2018) define EC as motivated, obsessive, following strict rules, and used to avoid negative consequences (e.g., fears or guilt). The authors describe CE as an activity that consumes a lot of time and negatively impacts daily life, such as work and social relationships, and continues despite injury, illness, or lack of enjoyment. However, although the proposed definition focuses mainly on the amount of time the activity requires, other research such as that of Meyer and Taranis (2011), indicates that to define exercise as compulsive, it is not so much about the amount of time spent, but rather about the cognitions and emotions surrounding exercise, for example, feeling extreme guilt for missing a workout would be a stronger indicator of CE than the amount of time spent exercising.
Consequences of excessive exercise
In the article published by the Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, it was found that compulsive exercise (CE) is associated with adverse outcomes for mental and physical health. For example, people who engage in CE are at greater risk of stress fractures, overuse injuries, and heart problems. In addition, CE is linked to social difficulties, interpersonal problems, poorer quality of life, and higher levels of psychological distress, including anxiety and depression.
So, what makes someone exercise excessively? To answer this question, several factors that may play a significant role in these cases must be considered. For example, the role of exercise identity, and also the passion for it may be related to the development of CE. Exercise identity refers to the degree to which a person identifies with the role of exercise in their life, while exercise passion refers to the intense and enduring desire to engage in physical activity.
Need for movement and exercise: main causes
It is interesting to note that the passion one feels for a type of exercise/sport can influence how one identifies with it and in turn determine how beneficial it is for health; results show that greater passion leads to greater health benefits. However, it has been found that those who identify strongly with a sport but do not feel a great passion for it may be at greater risk of engaging in compulsive behaviors such as weight control, as they are likely to practice exercise mechanically and as part of a rigid routine dedicated to body control, without experiencing greater satisfaction or enjoyment during the physical activity.
Therefore, given these results, we can see that a strong sports identity can result in both healthy and harmful behaviors, with passion and enjoyment being the differentiating element between one path or another. In the absence of passion, satisfaction, and enjoyment with the exercise practiced, it is likely that exercise will easily become a rigid and compulsive behavior rather than beneficial to our health.
Excess of physical exercise: common symptoms
Individuals with an eating disorder are often those who struggle the most with exercise compulsion. It is often one of the first symptoms to appear and also one of the last to disappear during recovery. In the research by Hallward, L., and Duncan, L.R. (2021), various testimonies are shared that exemplify the experience of these individuals, the compulsion, ambivalence to change, and above all, confusion about what constitutes healthy exercise.
“I know I need to change, I’m always exhausted, irritable, and have little patience with my wife (and kids), but at the same time, I can’t quiet the voice in my head urging me to go out for a run to make up for the extra snack I ate during the day.”
“I go to the gym three times a week and just ordered a stationary bike. It’s hard to know the line between health and fitness and just… full-blown anorexia. On the one hand, I really enjoy getting stronger. I want to improve my cardiovascular health. I also feel very restless at night when I don’t get enough exercise during the day, so exercise helps me sleep and manage anxiety.”
Healthy exercise versus exercise addiction
In line with the attempt to conceptualize what healthy exercise means, Calogero, Tylka, McGilley, and Pedrotty-Stump (2019) proposed the concept of Attunement With Exercise (AWE) which refers to a respectful mindset towards exercise (vs. compulsive). Attunement With Exercise involves mindful attention, self-acceptance, self-compassion, joyful movement, and being connected with the body. The authors describe it by the following three elements:
- Safety: attentive to the body’s needs, non-threatening, carried out with proper nutrition and sufficient hydration. It is guided by internal body signals to determine when, what, where, why, and how to exercise.
- Process-oriented (vs. results-oriented for body control): it is conscious, intuitive, unbiased, balanced, and connected.
- Happiness: relieves stress, brings pleasure and rejuvenates.
How to stop the urge to exercise
In summary, we consider it essential to understand the factors that can lead to the development of compulsive exercise and also to clearly define what we understand by healthy exercise, as it is often confusing and unwittingly promotes harmful behaviors. Recognizing the influence of identity and passion for exercise allows us to detect early risk factors and intervene effectively to prevent exercise from becoming a harmful and disproportionate activity in people’s lives. By doing so, we can protect the mental and physical health of those who exercise, promoting a more balanced and respectful approach towards physical activity.
Remember, exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but like with anything, it’s important to find a balance. Listen to your body’s needs and respond respectfully and in tune with them.
References:
- Cosh, S. M., Loi, N. M., & McNeil, D. G. (2023). Passion moderates the relationship between exercise identity and compulsive exercise. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 3(3), 184-191.
- Calogero, R. M., Tylka, T. L., McGilley, B. H., & Pedrotty-Stump, K. N. (2019). Attunement with exercise. In T. L. Tylka & N. Piran (Eds.), Handbook of posi- tive body image and embodiment (pp. 80–90). New York, NY: Oxford Uni- versity Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/med-psych/9780190841874.001. 0001
- Dittmer, N., Jacobi, C., & Voderholzer, U. (2018). Compulsive exercise in eating disorders: Proposal for a definition and a clinical assessment. Journal of Eating Disorders, 6(42), 1–9.
- Hallward, L., & Duncan, L. R. (2021). “Compulsive exercise is a socially acceptable prison cell”: Exploring experiences with compulsive exercise across social media. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54(9), 1663-1671.
- Meyer, C., & Taranis, L. (2011). Exercise in the eating disorders: Terms and definitions. European Eating Disorders Review, 19(2011), 169–173. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.1121