Exercise behaviours and feelings in eating disorder and non‐eating disorder groups

Abstract

Clinicians assessing eating disordered individuals should address specific exercise feelings, rather than exercise amount or frequency.

“I'm not physically active ‐ I only go for walks”: Physical activity in patients with longstanding eating disorders

“…3,5 The difference between patients and controls regarding exercise for negative affect regulation is consistent with previous studies. 4,13 The lack of difference in exercise for weight/appearance is consistent with the study of Boyd et al 4 We cannot exclude that the patients deliberately underestimated the importance of exercise for weight and shape due to the inpatient treatment setting. Also, reasons for exercise may vary over time.…”

“…Empirically, the findings are inconsistent. [1][2][3][4] Among the different ED diagnoses, patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) have been found more physically active when compared with bulimia nervosa (BN), 3,5 whereas information about patients with ED not otherwise specified (EDNOS) is lacking. One possible explanation for the inconsistent findings is the use of different assessment methods for physical activity.…”

“…11,12 However, whether these reasons are more important in females with ED when compared with those without ED is inconsistently shown. 4,12 In addition, regulation of negative, not positive, affects has been shown as important reasons for exercise in patients with ED. 4,13 Negative affect regulation refers to exercise to cope with affects such as anxiety and sadness, whereas positive affect regulation is defined as exercise to improve mood.…”

“…4,12 In addition, regulation of negative, not positive, affects has been shown as important reasons for exercise in patients with ED. 4,13 Negative affect regulation refers to exercise to cope with affects such as anxiety and sadness, whereas positive affect regulation is defined as exercise to improve mood. 14 Whether exercise to regulate affects is more important in females with ED than non-clinical controls is yet to be examined.…”

The meaning of compulsive exercise in women with anorexia nervosa: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

“…While preoccupation with exercise in the eating disorders has in the main been associated with weight-and body shape concerns (Brewerton et al, 1995;Shroff et al, 2006;, studies have shown that the regulation of negative emotions makes an important contribution to compulsive exercise in patients with anorexia nervosa (Boyd, Abraham, & Luscombe, 2007;Bratland-Sanda et al, 2011;Bratland-Sanda et al, 2010a;Lawson, Waller, & Lockwood, 2007;Meyer & Taranis, 2011). Conventional biomedical approaches assume that women with anorexia have difficulty identifying and regulating their emotions (Gilboa-Schechtman, Avnon, Zubery, & Jeczmien, 2006;Oldershaw et al, 2011;Oldershaw, Hambrook, Tchanturia, Treasure, & Schmidt, 2010), particularly in the restricting type (Harrison, Sullivan, Tchanturia, & Treasure, 2010).…”