Exercise Addiction

This section contains the following information on Exercise addiction (exercise dependancy\ disorder;

So, what is exercise addiction??

Exercise addiction is maladaptive, thus instead of enhancing the person’s life, it is detrimental. Exercise addiction can threaten health, causing injuries and physical damage due to inadequate rest. In some instances, particularly when co-occurring with an eating disorder, malnutrition can be a physiological symptom of exercise addiction. Exercise addiction is persistent, an exercise addict exercises too much and for too long without giving the body a chance to recover. Exercise addicts exercise for hours every day, regardless of fatigue or illness.

The prevalence of exercise dependence is not known. Some researchers believe a relatively small percent of men and women have a severe dependence; others feel that as many as 7% of committed exercisers are dependent on exercise. It is thought 50% of anorexics and bulimics deal with some form of exercise dependence. Psychiatrists define exercise addiction as a compulsive disorder.

Other examples of compulsive behaviour are gambling addiction, work addiction, eating disorders, and alcohol addiction. Many people believe that an addition to exercise is beneficial to the body and well being. This is a huge misconception as any addiction is damaging to one’s lifestyle and health.

Another reason is a desire to control which is the same driving mechanism behind eating disorders. Psychologically weak people feel the need to have a control on everything in their lives. Exercise is a way to gain this ‘control’ because they can change their body shape, gain mastery over their body and improve their mood while partaking in sports/exercise. For such individuals activity becomes the only focus in life, for those with eating disorders food is their main focus, the two obsessions are very comparable.

Imagine a person who is already addicted to physical exertion and breaks up with his or her girlfriend or boyfriend or has a major stress in their life. They are very likely to channel stressful emotions into their compulsion and exercise much more in attempts to deal with problems. It is interesting that doing sports becomes a way to cope with life to such individuals. They tend to exercise even more when they have problems at home, work or in their families.

These are most of the subjective and objective reasons for exercise to become an unhealthy habit or simply an addiction. People tend to repeat this activity to achieve certain results until they can no longer live a single day without it, once something takes over it is usually imbedded for life. Individuals will always tend to revert to addictive behaviours during difficult circumstances.

How much exercise is considered too much??

To maintain good health, 2,000-3,500 calories should be burned each week through various exercises, such as running, dancing, cycling for Thirty to forty-five minutes a day. Exercising five or six days a week is sufficient to acquire health benefits and to maintain a healthy weight providing the individual is not grossly overeating. Exercise beyond 3,500 calories per week, however, leads to decreased physical benefits and increased risk of injury. Also unhealthy weight loss can be induced if the individual is not eating sufficient calories to sustain exercise and weight.

Many people often query as to why regular exercise can become an addiction, firstly most serious sportsmen and people who do more sports, no matter what kind, become addicted. Those who exercise probably would agree that sports can improve mood, lower anxiety and cause more positive emotions in individuals. This may be one of the reasons that exercise becomes such an integral aspect of their lives.

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