Mental disorders in individuals at risk for exercise addiction – A systematic review

Colledge, Flora; Sattler, Isabel; Schilling, Hanna; Gerber, Markus; Pühse, Uwe; Walter, Marc

doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100314

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The answer was not straightforward; while heavy exercisers reported higher mental toughness scores, they also reported more mental health issues. While the former result could be expected from what we know from previous studies [34,[101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118], the latter result appears to confirm the raising research that excessive exercising could also be associated with mental health issues [91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98]. Thus, we claim that the present data expand upon the sparse but increasing literature on the unfavorable association between excessive exercising and mental health issues, in that such a pattern was also observed among heavily exercising Iranian adults.…”

supporting

confidence: 88%

“…However, such claims have been challenged: Sparse, inconsistent, but increasing data show that excessive exercising might be associated with symptoms of mental health issues [91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98]. Similarly, at least among adolescents and longitudinally, physical activity patterns were completely unrelated to participants' mental health [99], challenging the claim that, almost by nature, higher physical activity patterns lead more favorable mental health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Next, the first research question asked was if and to what extent heavy exercisers would report more favorable or more unfavorable mental health scores and mental toughness scores, always compared with light exercisers. This research question is based on more recent research on the adverse effects of excessive exercising on mental health [91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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When Much Is Too Much—Compared to Light Exercisers, Heavy Exercisers Report More Mental Health Issues and Stress, but Less Sleep Complaints

et al. 2021

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Background: Physical inactivity has become a global somatic and mental health issue. To counterbalance, promoting regular physical activity appears plausible, above all among adults, where physical inactivity is particularly high. However, some, but sparse, research also indicates that excessive exercising might be associated with unfavorable mental health dimensions. Here, we tested the hypothesis that excessive exercising was associated with more mental health issues. To this end, we assessed mental health issues, stress, mental toughness, and sleep disturbances among heavy and light adult exercisers. Methods: A total of 200 adults (mean age: 35 years; 62% females) took part in the study. Of those, 100 were heavy exercisers (18–22 h/week), and 100 were light exercisers (1–6 h/week). Participants completed questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, mental health issues, perceived stress, mental toughness, and sleep disturbances. Results: Compared with light exercisers, heavy exercisers reported higher mental health issues, more stress, but also higher mental toughness scores and less sleep disturbances. Higher age, lower mental toughness scores, heavy exerciser-status, and more sleep disturbances predicted higher mental health complaints. Conclusions: Compared with light exercising, heavy exercising might be associated with more mental health issues. As such, it appears that the association between exercise frequency, intensity, and duration and psychological well-being might be related to an optimum point, but not to a maximum point. In a similar vein, heavily exercising athletes, their coaches, parents, and representatives of sports associations should get sensitized to possible adverse psychological effects of excessive physical activity patterns.

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confidence: 88%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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When Much Is Too Much—Compared to Light Exercisers, Heavy Exercisers Report More Mental Health Issues and Stress, but Less Sleep Complaints

et al. 2021

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“…Given this, such psychological factors came into the focus of attention of athletes, coaches and sport psychologists [ 1 ]. This holds particularly true, as there is increasing evidence of mental health issues among heavy exercisers [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Strikingly, 12–14% of promising junior elite athletes reported symptoms of burnout [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the Effects of Mindfulness–Acceptance–Commitment Training on Self-Compassion and Grit among Elite Female Athletes

Mohebi

Sadeghi-Bahmani

Zarei

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Background: Mindfulness-based interventions are well-established in the field of psychotherapy, and such interventions have also gained increased attention in the field of sport psychology, either to cope with psychological pressure or to improve an athlete’s performance. The goal of the present study was to examine whether a Mindfulness–Acceptance–Commitment (MAC) program could increase self-compassion and grit among elite female athletes compared to an active control condition. To this end, we performed a randomized trial among female adult athletes. Methods: Forty female adult athletes (Mage = 22.22, SD = 2.40) were randomly assigned either to the Mindfulness–Acceptance–Commitment group (n = 20; 7 group sessions, 60 min each) or the active control group (n = 20; 7 group sessions, 60 min each). At baseline, seven weeks later at the end of the study and again four weeks later at follow-up, participants completed a series of self-rating questionnaires on mindfulness, self-compassion and grit. Results: Dimensions of mindfulness, self-compassion and grit improved over time, but more so in the Mindfulness–Acceptance–Commitment condition compared to the active control condition. Improvements remained stable from the study end to follow-up. Conclusions: While the active control condition improved dimensions of mindfulness, self-compassion and grit among female adult athletes, improvements were much stronger in the Mindfulness–Acceptance–Commitment condition. Importantly, improvements in the Mindfulness–Acceptance–Commitment condition remained stable over a time lapse of four weeks at follow-up after study completion, suggesting that the Mindfulness–Acceptance–Commitment intervention appeared to improve cognitive–emotional learning processes.

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“…In case of exercise addiction, the prevalence and range of co-occurring mental disorders has not yet been clinically examined. Eating disorders are frequently discussed within the context of excessive exercising habits ( 25 ) and indeed it seems intuitive that exercise might be practised simply for the purpose of weight control. Furthermore, some of the highest prevalence rates of exercise addiction (between 38 and 45%) are reported in individuals with diagnosed eating disorders ( 26 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Disorders in Individuals With Exercise Addiction—A Cross-Sectional Study

et al. 2021

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Background and Aims: Exercise addiction has not yet been designated as an addictive disorder in the DSM-5 due to a lack of detailed research. In particular, associations with other psychiatric diagnoses have received little attention. In this study, individuals with a possible exercise addiction are clinically assessed, in order to establish a profile of co-occurring psychiatric disorders in individuals with exercise addiction.Methods: One hundred and fifty-six individuals who reported exercising more than 10 h a week, and continued to do so despite illness or injury, were recruited for the study. Those who met the cut-off of the Exercise Dependence Scale (n = 32) were invited to participate in a screening with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5-CV) and personality disorders (SCID-5-PD). Additionally, an interview based on the DSM-5 criteria of non-substance-related addictive disorders was conducted to explore the severity of exercise addiction symptoms.Results: 75% of participants fulfilled the criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder. Depressive disorders (56.3%), personality disorders (46.9%) and obsessive-compulsive disorders (31.3%) were the most common disorders. Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between the number of psychiatric disorders and the severity of exercise addiction (r = 0.549, p = 0.002).Discussion: The results showed a variety of mental disorders in individuals with exercise addiction and a correlation between the co-occurrence of mental disorders and the severity of exercise addiction. Exercise addiction differs from other addictive und substance use disorders, as obsessive-compulsive (Cluster C), rather than impulsive (Cluster B) personality traits were most commonly identified.Conclusions: Our results underscore the importance of clinical diagnostics, and indicate that treatment options for individuals with exercise addiction are required. However, the natural history and specific challenges of exercise addiction must be studied in more detail.

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Mental disorders in individuals at risk for exercise addiction – A systematic review

Cited by 17 publications

References 41 publications

When Much Is Too Much—Compared to Light Exercisers, Heavy Exercisers Report More Mental Health Issues and Stress, but Less Sleep Complaints

When Much Is Too Much—Compared to Light Exercisers, Heavy Exercisers Report More Mental Health Issues and Stress, but Less Sleep Complaints

Examining the Effects of Mindfulness–Acceptance–Commitment Training on Self-Compassion and Grit among Elite Female Athletes

Mental Disorders in Individuals With Exercise Addiction—A Cross-Sectional Study

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