In general, exercise is greatly beneficial to your health. However, when exercising starts to become a focus to the exclusion of other aspects of life; and your body’s health, it is considered a problem that will require treatment.
Yes, there is such a thing as too much exercise. As important as moving our bodies is, eating, rest, and recovery are equally important. At Within Health we prefer to think of moving your body and using your body, and we prefer to use terms that promote finding joy in movement and compassion for one’s body.
Professional athletes are at a much higher risk of exercise addiction, with 42% of athletes reporting having this disorder1, compared to approximately 3% (2) of the general population. This may be due to how normative intense movement and exercise is for professional athletes, and the inherent association between eating and the idea that one must exercise to “make up” for eating. Many athletes have never had a period of time in their life in which they ate without compensating by movement.
Exercise addiction is a chronic mental health disorder that affects relationships, work, psychological and medical health. It can cause several psychological and physical health problems, leading to reduced productivity, distress, and impaired quality of life.
Why do people who suffer from exercise addiction compulsively exercise?
In many instances, those with exercise addiction have a strong need for control in their lives. Their mind tells them that the only thing they can control is how often they work out and that it’s the only way to feel good.
Exercise addiction can be associated with impulsivity, risk-taking behavior, and poor decision-making, developing into exercising excessively, despite injury or illness.
Exercise addiction can be challenging to diagnose as exercising is a highly individualized behavior, with the intensity and frequency of workouts greatly varying from person to person. Diagnosis of exercise addiction must be made on a case-by-case basis, as there is not a standardized model for a safe number of workouts per day or week.
Qualified health professionals use several tools to help them diagnose exercise addiction. The primary tool is a comprehensive psychological evaluation, which includes assessing the patient's overall physical and mental health. Diagnosis may also involve an evaluation of the patient's relationship with their exercise habits.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) classifies exercise addiction as a behavioral addiction. (1) The DSM-5 recognizes exercise addiction in an individual when:
However, many professionals still find it hard to make an official diagnosis, which is why they will often use the criteria for substance dependence to determine if the individual is addicted to exercise.
To diagnose a person with exercise addiction, your medical team may run through the following criteria:
Individuals who are addicted to exercise may experience these symptoms:
An addiction to exercise can be a serious problem. The harmful effects of this addiction may include emotional distress, depression, anxiety, and even additional health disorders. It can also take away from focus or put pressure on relationships, education, and employment.
Some of the most common short-term effects associated with exercise addiction include:
When it comes to the long-term effects of exercise addiction, many people experience:
The female athlete triad 8 is a lesser known disorder involving exercise and disordered eating. Someone with the female athlete triad will experience:
Female athletes with this eating disorder may encounter issues with injury or fractures due to osteoporosis and psychological and physical health side effects of disordered eating. This eating disorder exists in the athletic community due to pressure from coaches, teammates, family members, and even the athlete themselves to hit certain goals, or weights, at all costs.
Exercise addiction is one that often co-occurs with other mental and behavioral conditions, including:
Treating co-occurring conditions alongside exercise addiction will improve chances of recovery, as the symptoms often intertwine with one another. For instance, a patient may have body dysmorphia (a mental health disorder where you obsessively think about one or more perceived defects/flaws in your appearance)7 and believe that their thighs are too large. To compensate, the individual may go running multiple times a day to try and lose the extra weight they believe they have.
Without the proper treatment for underlying body dysmorphia, people with exercise addiction may relapse even after attending a treatment program.
Treatment for addiction to exercise can be long and challenging. When a patient goes without exercising, they can undergo what is called exercise withdrawal (6), which presents symptoms such as:
When it comes to treating exercise addiction, the most common form of treatment is therapy. Since this exercise addiction is a behavioral addiction, treatment must focus on the individual as a whole to understand how their behavior affects their lives and the lives of those around them. Some of the most common types of therapy include:
At this time, there are no approved medications that specifically target exercise addiction. If you are struggling with symptoms of depression or anxiety, then you may want to speak with your medical team about possible treatment options.
It is critical to understand that there is a difference between healthy movement and exercise addiction.
People who exercise regularly are not necessarily addicted, as they may simply love to exercise and see it as a way of living a balanced, active life. Exercise can also be a healthy coping mechanism for those suffering from a wide array of mental health conditions, when done safely, and in moderation.
However, exercise becomes an addiction when it begins to consume too much of a person's time, energy, and attention, at the cost of their wellbeing.
Exercise addiction is not a new phenomenon, but it is a growing one. Individuals living with the condition often express significant distress, guilt, and shame, over their actions.
People living with exercise addiction often feel constant negative emotions, such as anxiety, depression, and a sense of dread. They may have a hard time focusing and may feel sluggish and exhausted.
People who are addicted to exercise may have a difficult time controlling their behavior, which can cause problematic patterns to develop. They may exercise while feeling sick or injured, or exercise in the middle of the night when they are supposed to be sleeping.
Research has shown that this obsession with exercise has led to an increase in individuals struggling with various eating disorders. One study showed that 60.2% of individuals stated that they not only had an eating disorder but suffered from exercise addiction as well. (5)
In order to recover from exercise addiction, you must work with a team who understands the condition from a medical basis, and as well as the importance of exposure to eating without compensatory behaviors of movement.
If you are coping with exercise addiction, it can be helpful to ensure that you surround yourself with those who love and support you. This support group may include your family, friends, and even colleagues.
You may also want to seek additional treatment. In some cases, it is recommended to seek treatment for exercise addiction from a specialized center or clinic.
Exercise addiction wasn't officially added to the DSM until its update in 2000 and is now available under behavioral addictions along with other conditions like gambling addiction and sex addiction. (4)
Since that time, there has been much research and work to understand the condition and try to find answers. This research includes studies into:
Despite such attention, the topic still needs extensive review.
Pop culture has played a pivotal role in shaping our understanding of the impacts of exercise addiction. Some examples include an episode of Family Guy where the family dog becomes obsessed with running to the point of near starvation (Season 13 Ep.2), and the MTV True Life episode “I’m Addicted to Exercise” (Season 17, Ep. 20).
Social media, television commercials, and reality TV series are often riddled with the glorification of exercising and being your best self. As a result, it has led to several misconceptions about what comprises a healthy exercise regime. It’s not very often that you hear about over-exercising or exercise addiction, so many people are not aware of the condition and just how severe it can be.
Although exercise addiction can be a challenging issue, it is essential that you try to support and encourage someone struggling with this condition. You can do so by:
Within Health strives to help cure all forms of eating disorders with our clinically-superior care. If you or a loved one are struggling with exercise addiction, help is only a phone call away. Call our admissions team to ease your suffering.
In general, exercise is greatly beneficial to your health. However, when exercising starts to become a focus to the exclusion of other aspects of life; and your body’s health, it is considered a problem that will require treatment.
The most common symptoms of exercise addiction are:
