Negative addiction to exercise: are there differences between genders?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:Regular physical exercise has numerous benefits. However, there is a subset of the exercising population who may develop a compulsion to exercise excessively and who may, as a consequence, display physiological and psychological changes that have a direct influence on their quality of life.OBJECTIVE:Our objective was to determine if there are differences between male and female athletes' scores on measures of negative addiction symptoms, quality of life, mood and sleep. Methods: 144 female and 156 male athletes participated in this study by answering the following questionnaires: Negative Addiction Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Trait Anxiety Inventory, Profile of Mood States, SF-36 Quality of Life, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality and Epworth Sleepiness Scale.RESULTS:Higher dedication to training sessions in the male group, and members of the female group with symptoms of negative addiction to exercise showed a lower score on vigor observed by the Profile of Mood States compared to the males in both situations. We also observed depression symptoms in both members of groups who had negative addiction symptoms when compared with their peers without symptoms, and these figures were even higher in females compared with the male group in the same situation.CONCLUSION:No differences were seen in the development of negative addiction exercise symptoms in males and females and there were no changes in the quality of life and mood of these athletes. Further studies of eating disorders associated with changes in body image perception could contribute to a better understanding of negative addiction to exercise.

Influence of Psychological, Anthropometric and Sociodemographic Factors on the Symptoms of Eating Disorders in Young Athletes

“…Regarding the influence of the independent variables on the risk behaviours for ED, the results of a multiple regression showed that only dissatisfaction with body image significant associations between dissatisfaction with body image (Coelho et al, 2010), psychological commitment addiction to exercise (Modolo et al, 2011), anthropometric measurements (i.e., BMI and adiposity) (De Bruin et al, 2007), ethnicity (Pernick et al, 2006) and competitive level (HolmDenoma et al, 2009;Peden et al, 2008) and risk factors for ED in athletes. However, until now, no studies have examined the variance in eating attitudes that are characteristics of ED in young athletes, especially in a Brazilian population.…”

“…Moreover, a high degree of psychological impairment with regard to exercise may be related to the risk of ED. Modolo et al (2011) suggest that a psychological addiction to exercise can be a consequence of individuals' depreciation of their own bodies, which may impair eating habits.…”

Influência de fatores afetivos, antropométricos e sociodemográficos sobre o comportamento alimentar em jovens atletas

“…Entretanto, Modolo et al 18 salientam que a dependência de exercício físico ou, simplesmente, o excesso de atividade física podem ser considerados fatores de risco para a alimentação inadequada em atletas. Parece que em jovens esportistas femininas essa hipótese não procede, o que pode ser identificado nos resultados do presente manuscrito.…”

“…Parece que em jovens esportistas femininas essa hipótese não procede, o que pode ser identificado nos resultados do presente manuscrito. Talvez o comprometimento psicológico ao exercício na presente amostra tenha sido baixo, pois grande parte dessas jovens participava de competições de nível nacional, o que pode ser considerado como fator protetor contra instalação da dependência de exercício físico, visto que autores afirmam que essa dependência é mais encontrada em atletas que competem em níveis inferiores 7,18 .…”

“…Ademais, parece que o elevado grau de comprometimento psicoló-gico ao exercício também pode influenciar negativamente o comportamento alimentar. Modolo et al 18 salientam que a dependência psicológica ao exercício físico pode ser consequência da depreciação do próprio corpo, podendo, então, prejudicar os hábitos alimentares.…”