exercise addiction

Do you:

• feel guilty when you miss an exercise session
• miss important social or business appointments to exercise
• exercise despite being injured?

If you answered ‘yes’ to these questions, you may be suffering from exercise addiction, a physiological or psychological dependence on regular exercise. A high dependence which produces unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when a person stops exercising is probably rare, but some sports psychologists believe that lower levels of addiction are quite common. The term exercise addiction is often used in a pejorative sense to imply that an individual has an uncontrollable craving for exercise. The cravings may be linked to the production of endorphins, brain chemicals that have narcotic effects similar to those of morphine. A person may be addicted to any exercise, but addiction is usually associated with distance running and weight training.

Most exercise addicts exhibit few harmful symptoms, but studies cited in the International Journal of Eating Disorders (January 1994) suggest that exercise addiction can lead to eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa. The studies found that many anorexics started to exercise in order to become fit, not, as previously thought, to become slim. Apparently, their obsession with slimness developed only after they became addicted to exercise.

An unhealthy reliance on exercise for daily functioning. The exercise often becomes the main mechanism for coping with everyday stresses. Exercise addiction is characterized by dependence (a belief that exercise is essential for feeling good), tolerance (the need to progressively increase the level of exercise in order to achieve the same level of feeling good), and withdrawal (unpleasant feelings, such as tiredness and irritability, associated with stopping or reducing exercise levels). The cause of exercise addiction is not known, although tentative links have been made with release of endorphins during exercise. In many cases, exercise addiction is associated with an underlying problem, such as career or family stress. Treatment is notoriously difficult (some exercise addicts will not stop no matter what enticements or warnings you offer them), but it may be successful if the underlying problem causing it is identified and remedied. Continued exercise addiction can lead to overuse injuries, and social, family, and career problems. Running is the most common sport associated with exercise addiction.