[4] Differentiating between addictive and healthy exercise behaviors is difficult but there are key factors in determining which category a person may fall into.
[8] A concrete classification of exercise addiction has proven to be difficult due to the lack of a specific and widely accepted diagnostic model.
Psychiatric case studies have shown that exaggerated exercise could lead to negligence of work and family life.
With a compulsion people often do not necessarily enjoy repeating certain tasks, as they may feel like performing it will fulfill a duty that is required of them.
[12] Those who succumb to exercise addiction may experience overtraining, which is best defined as a “condition of poor adaptation to a chronic period of excessive stress caused by a physical exertion, resulting in the development of the syndrome, compromising the health and sports performance”.
Those who undergo rigorous training without adequate rest are more likely to experience depression, anger, fatigue and confusion.
[19] One of the prevailing mechanisms for this addiction lies within these activities that expose individuals to the mood-altering effects of this behavior, and can many times deposit dopamine directly into the blood flow.
[citation needed] Addictive behavior, more commonly described as impulsivity,[27] consists of jerky, rapid and unplanned responses to external or internal stimuli.
Impulsive behavior can result in many negative consequences and is intuitively driven by a desired end-goal of a positive reward,[28] similar to the one received after a good workout.
When exercise addiction and eating disorders co-occur for many trying to bulk up, only one problem will be treated which raises an alarming concern.
[29] Despite a healthier, now improved relationship to food and one’s appetite, the individual will still not gain any additional weight, and thus leads to a repetitive cycle that is managed through a more potent exercise regimen.
Behavioral addiction and substance abuse disorders are treated similarly; treatment options include exposure and response prevention.
[30] Exercise addictions comorbid in patients with an eating disorder may be treated through psychotherapy involving education, behavioral interventions, and a strengthened family support structure.
[31] Most research has focused on adult population or on college students, but little is known about epidemiology of behavioral addictions in adolescence.
Exercise addiction is also commonly associated with eating disorders as a secondary symptom of bulimia or anorexia nervosa.