Exercise addiction
Addiction and dependence glossary[1][2][3] | |
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Exercise addiction is a state characterized by a compulsive engagement in any form of physical exercise, despite negative consequences. While regular exercise is generally a healthy activity, exercise addiction generally involves performing excessive amounts of exercise to the detriment of physical health, spending too much time exercising to the detriment of personal and professional life, and exercising regardless of physical injury.[4][5][6] It may also involve a state of dependence upon regular exercise which involves the occurrence of severe withdrawal symptoms when the individual is unable to exercise.[4] Differentiating between addictive and healthy exercise behaviors is difficult but there are key factors in determining which category a person may fall into.[7] Exercise addiction shows a high comorbidity with eating disorders.[5]
Exercise addiction is not listed as a disorder in the latest revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). This type of addiction can be classified under a behavioral addiction in which a person’s behavior becomes obsessive, compulsive, and/or causes dysfunction in a person's life.[8] The next revision of the DSM (DSM-5) will include an addictions and related disorders section; gambling is the only non-substance addiction that is likely to be included. Other non-substance addictions, such as exercise addiction, are being researched but their inclusion is undetermined.[9]
Classification
A concrete classification of exercise addiction has proven to be difficult due to the lack of a specific and widely accepted definition.[10] While excessive exercise is the overarching theme with exercise addiction, the term also includes a variety of symptoms like withdrawal, "exercise buzz", and impaired physical function.[11] Excessive exercise has been classified in different ways; sometimes as an addiction and sometimes as a compulsion. With an addiction, individuals become "hooked" to the feeling of euphoria and pleasure that exercise provides. This pleasure keeps the individual from stopping and leads to excessive exercise. With a compulsion people often do not enjoy repeating certain tasks but feel like it will fulfill a duty that is required of them.[12] There are many opinions on whether concrete diagnostic criteria should be created for this type of addiction. Some say preoccupation with exercise that causes significant impairment in a person's life, not due to another disorder, may be enough criteria to label this disorder.[11] Others say there is not enough information about exercise addiction to develop diagnostic criteria. The term "excessive exercise" continues to be used and the acceptance of the term "exercise addiction" continues to be debated.[13]
Signs and symptoms
Five indicators of exercise addiction are:[7]
- An increase in exercise that may be labeled as detrimental, or becomes harmful.
- A desire to experience euphoria; exercise may be increased as tolerance of the euphoric state increases.
- Not participating in physical activity will cause dysfunction in one's daily life.
- Severe withdrawal symptoms following exercise deprivation including anxiety, restlessness, depression, guilt, tension, discomfort, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, and headaches.
- Exercising through trauma and despite physical injuries.
Key differences between healthy and addictive levels of exercise include the presence of withdrawal symptoms when exercise is stopped as well as the addictive properties exercise may have leading to a dependence on exercise.[12]
Mechanisms
As of 2016[update], the mechanisms involved in the development of an exercise addiction, associated with the transition from healthy committed exercise to compulsive exercise, are unknown.
Assessment
Different assessment tools can be used to determine if an individual is addicted to exercise.[14] Most tools used to determine risk for exercise addiction are modified tools that have been used for assessing other behavioral addictions. Tools for determining eating disorders can also show a high risk for exercise addiction.[15]
The Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire was created by Thompson and Pasman in 1991, consisting of 20 questions on exercise habits and attitudes toward exercise and body image. Patients respond to statements on a scale of 1 (never) to 4 (always).[16] This questionnaire aided in the development of another assessment tool, the Exercise Addiction Inventory.[14]
The Exercise Addiction Inventory was developed by Terry et al in 2004. This inventory was developed as a self-report to examine an individual's beliefs toward exercise. The inventory is made up of six statements in relation to the perception of exercise, concerning: the importance of exercise to the individual, relationship conflicts due to exercise, how mood changes with exercise, the amount of time spent exercising, the outcome of missing a workout, and the effects of decreasing physical activity. Individuals are asked to rate each statement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). If an individual scores above 24 they are said to be at-risk for exercise addiction.[14]
Treatment
Behavioral addiction and substance abuse disorders are treated similarly; treatment options include exposure and response prevention. No medications have been approved for the treatment of behavioral addictions. Studies have shown promise in the use of glutamatergic altering drugs to treat addictions other than exercise.[17] Exercise addictions comorbid in patients with an eating disorder may be treated through psychotherapy involving education, behavioral interventions, and a strengthened family support structure. In treating the eating disorder, obsessions and compulsions produced by obscured body image ideals will also be treated, this includes exercise addiction.[18]
Epidemiology
Most research has focused on adult population or on college students, but little is known about epidemiology of behavioral addictions in adolescence.[8] A study conducted by Villella et al looked at a group of students and the prevalence of various addictions. His results showed exercise addiction was the second most prevalent, after compulsive buying.[8] High risk groups that appear to have exercise addiction include athletes in sports encouraging thinness or appearance standards, young and middle-age women, and young men.[citation needed]
Prognosis
Individuals with exercise addiction may put exercise above family and friends, work, injuries, and other social activities.[7] If not identified and treated, an exercise addiction may lead to a significant decline in one's health.[7]
Comorbidity
An addiction, by definition, includes repeated compulsive behaviors that negatively affect daily living.[6] There are two ways to classify addictive behaviors: substance addiction and process addiction. An exercise addiction is a type of process addiction, in which an individual's mood toward a certain event becomes dependent on addictive behaviors.[6] Many educational, occupational, and social activities are stopped due to excessive exercising. Depression may develop if exercise is neglected or may result from reoccurring physical injuries that limit exercise.[6] Exercise addiction is often related to obsessive-compulsive disorder as exercise addicts may have obsessions or compulsions toward physical activity. Exercise addiction is also commonly associated with eating disorders as a secondary symptom of bulimia or anorexia nervosa. When diagnosing bulimia, exercise addiction is referred to as a compensatory behavior and indicator of the underlying disorder. Research also shows exercise addiction influences not only the development of eating disorders but also their maintenance.[12]
Animal models
As with many human diseases and disorders, animal models are sometimes used to study addiction. For example, voluntary wheel running by rodents, viewed as a model of human voluntary exercise, has been used to study withdrawal symptoms, such as changes in blood pressure, when wheel access is removed from mice.[19]
See also
References
- ^ Malenka RC, Nestler EJ, Hyman SE (2009). "Chapter 15: Reinforcement and Addictive Disorders". In Sydor A, Brown RY (eds.). Molecular Neuropharmacology: A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Medical. pp. 364–375. ISBN 9780071481274.
- ^ Nestler EJ (December 2013). "Cellular basis of memory for addiction". Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. 15 (4): 431–443. PMC 3898681. PMID 24459410.
Despite the importance of numerous psychosocial factors, at its core, drug addiction involves a biological process: the ability of repeated exposure to a drug of abuse to induce changes in a vulnerable brain that drive the compulsive seeking and taking of drugs, and loss of control over drug use, that define a state of addiction. ... A large body of literature has demonstrated that such ΔFosB induction in D1-type [nucleus accumbens] neurons increases an animal's sensitivity to drug as well as natural rewards and promotes drug self-administration, presumably through a process of positive reinforcement ... Another ΔFosB target is cFos: as ΔFosB accumulates with repeated drug exposure it represses c-Fos and contributes to the molecular switch whereby ΔFosB is selectively induced in the chronic drug-treated state.41. ... Moreover, there is increasing evidence that, despite a range of genetic risks for addiction across the population, exposure to sufficiently high doses of a drug for long periods of time can transform someone who has relatively lower genetic loading into an addict.
- ^ Volkow ND, Koob GF, McLellan AT (January 2016). "Neurobiologic Advances from the Brain Disease Model of Addiction". New England Journal of Medicine. 374 (4): 363–371. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1511480. PMC 6135257. PMID 26816013.
Substance-use disorder: A diagnostic term in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) referring to recurrent use of alcohol or other drugs that causes clinically and functionally significant impairment, such as health problems, disability, and failure to meet major responsibilities at work, school, or home. Depending on the level of severity, this disorder is classified as mild, moderate, or severe.
Addiction: A term used to indicate the most severe, chronic stage of substance-use disorder, in which there is a substantial loss of self-control, as indicated by compulsive drug taking despite the desire to stop taking the drug. In the DSM-5, the term addiction is synonymous with the classification of severe substance-use disorder. - ^ a b Landolfi E (2013). "Exercise addiction". Sports Med. 43 (2): 111–9. doi:10.1007/s40279-012-0013-x. PMID 23329605.
- ^ a b Demetrovics Z, Kurimay T (2008). "[Exercise addiction: a literature review]". Psychiatr Hung (in Hungarian). 23 (2): 129–41. PMID 18956613.
- ^ a b c d Sussman S, Lisha N, Griffiths M (March 2011). "Prevalence of the addictions: a problem of the majority or the minority?". Eval Health Prof. 34 (1): 3–56. doi:10.1177/0163278710380124. PMC 3134413. PMID 20876085.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d Krivoshchekov SG, Lushnikov ON (2011). "[Psychophysiology of sports addiction (exercises addiction)]". Fiziol Cheloveka (in Russian). 37 (4): 135–40. doi:10.1134/S0362119711030030. PMID 21950095.
- ^ a b c [unreliable medical source?]Villella C, Martinotti G, Di Nicola M; et al. (June 2011). "Behavioural addictions in adolescents and young adults: results from a prevalence study". J Gambl Stud. 27 (2): 203–14. doi:10.1007/s10899-010-9206-0. PMID 20559694.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ O'Brien, Charles (1 May 2011). "Addiction and dependence in DSM-V". Addiction. 106 (5): 866–867. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03144.x.
- ^ Johnston, Olwyn (2011). "Excessive Exercise: From Quantitative Categorisation to a Qualitative Continuum Approach". Eur. Eating Disorders Rev. 19: 237–248. doi:10.1002/erv.970.
- ^ a b Veale (1995). "Does primary exercise dependence really exist?". The British Psychological Society.
- ^ a b c Johnston, Olwyn; Reilly, Jackie; Kremer, John (1 May 2011). "Excessive exercise: From quantitative categorisation to a qualitative continuum approach". European Eating Disorders Review. 19 (3): 237–248. doi:10.1002/erv.970.
- ^ Elbourne, K.; Chen, J. (2007). "The continuum model of obligatory exercise: A preliminary investigation". Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 62: 73–80. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2004.12.003.
- ^ a b c Terry, Annabel; Szabo, Attila; Griffiths, Mark. "The exercise addiction inventory: a new brief screening tool". Addiction Research and Theory. 12 (5): 489–499. doi:10.1080/16066350310001637363.
- ^ Johnston, Olwyn (2011). "Execessive Exercise: From Quantitative Categorisation to a Qualitative Continuum Approach". Eur. Eat. Disorders Rev. 19: 237–248. doi:10.1002/erv.970.
- ^ J.K. Thompson; L. Pasman. "The Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire". Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ^ Grant JE, Potenza MN, Weinstein A, Gorelick DA (September 2010). "Introduction to behavioral addictions". Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 36 (5): 233–41. doi:10.3109/00952990.2010.491884. PMC 3164585. PMID 20560821.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Comer, Ronald J. (2010). Abnormal psychology (7th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers. pp. 363–65. ISBN 978-1-4292-1631-9.
- ^ Kolb, E. M., S. A. Kelly, and T. Garland, Jr. 2013. Mice from lines selectively bred for high voluntary wheel running exhibit lower blood pressure during withdrawal from wheel access. Physiology & Behavior 112-113:49–55.