Compulsive Exercise and Binge Eating

Contributor:  Leigh Bell, BA, writer for Eating Disorder Hope

Bulimia is often correlated with self-induced vomiting to negate effects of binge-eating, and while this is mostly true, some people struggling with the eating disorder purge with overexercise. 
 

Overexercise

Compulsive exercise is extremely common in all types of eating disorders, except for binge eating disorder (BED), for which eating large amounts of foods and not purging is a diagnostic characteristic. Compulsive exercise is almost twice as common in those with anorexia than with bulimia, and is used to relieve anxiety as much or more than to compensate for calories eaten.

One study of 165 people treated inpatient for an eating disorder found 45.5% compulsive exercisers, and the condition was most prevalent (80%) in restricting-type anorexia and less common (39%) in purging-type bulimia. Compulsive exercise is associated with restraint, and those who struggle may be more resistant to eating-disorder treatment than those who don’t overexercise, resolved the researchers in this study.

Obviously compulsivity is the shared element between compulsive exercise and compulsive eating, but the root cause may be different. Much research links binge eating to impulsivity, and in fact, BED is a compulsive-impulsive disorder, or a condition in which people cannot resist the urge to do something knowingly harmful to themselves or others, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Compulsive-impulsive Disorders

Eating disorders are also considered compulsive-impulsive disorders. However, the element of compulsive exercise in restrictive anorexia is very similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and may even be a culture-bound variant of OCD.

Compulsive exercise and binge eating are common, especially in adolescents and young adults. One study of almost 600 college students (average age 20 years) found 18.1% were compulsive exercisers and 7.2% were compulsive eaters. The presence of both conditions was rare; and yet, both conditions can be detrimental to one’s body and mind.

Compulsive exercise is a disorder often associated with disordered eating habits. Any female who under-eats, overexercises, or both is at risk for “Female Athlete Triad” or “energy drain,” according to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA). The triad refers to three serious interrelated health problems: disordered eating habits, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis.

1. Under-fueling (consuming too few calories, usually deliberately in an attempt to lose weight quickly to improve appearance or performance) and aggravated by psychological stress.
2. The ovaries produce less and less estrogen, resulting in menstrual irregularities and often amenorrhea.
3. This low estrogen level also promotes or accelerates the loss of normal bone density, setting the stage for fragile and brittle bones that fracture easily (stress fractures and osteoporosis).

Warning signs of compulsive exercise include:

• Anxiety if one doesn’t exercise even for a single day.
• One spends hours, like four or five, of every day working out, and doing so, can create unnecessary physical strain.
• Exercise regimen rules one’s life. Someone will miss work, school, or a night out to exercise.
• One ignores the body’s warning messages that it’s time to stop. Someone is always “working through” the pain.

People who binge eat may develop binge eating disorder (BED), which may cause excess weight and increase risk, among others things, for:

• type-2 diabetes
• high blood pressure
• heart disease and strokes
• fatty liver and kidney diseases

Warning signs of BED include:

• Eating very quickly, far more quickly than others.
• Eating beyond the point of satiety to the point of uncomfortable fullness.
• Eating when not hungry.
• Feeling embarrassed about eating, leading the person to eat alone.

– National Women’s Health Information Center

Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!

Have you struggled with Binge Eating Disorder and overexercise?  What steps did you take to achieve a healthy balance of exercise in your recovery?

About the Author:

Leigh Bell holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in Creative Writing and French from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She is a published author, journalist with 15 years of experience, and a recipient of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism. Leigh is recovered from a near-fatal, decade-long battle with anorexia and the mother of three young, rambunctious children.

The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders.  These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer a discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.  We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors.  If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on September 18, 2015. Published on EatingDisorderHope.com