Features associated with excessive exercise in women with eating disorders.
OBJECTIVE
Excessive exercise and motor restlessness are observed in a substantial number of patients with eating disorders. This trait has been studied extensively among animal models of activity anorexia nervosa (AN) and may hold particular interest as an endophenotype for AN. We explored features associated with excessive exercise across subtypes of eating disorders.


METHODS
Participants were female probands and affected female relatives from the multi-site international Price Foundation Genetic Studies with diagnoses of AN, bulimia nervosa (BN), and both AN and BN or eating disorder not otherwise specified (ED-NOS) (N=1,857). Excessive exercise was defined based on responses to the Structured Interview for Anorexic and Bulimic Disorders (SIAB).


RESULTS
Among the eating disorder diagnostic groups, excessive exercise was most common among the purging subtype of AN. Individuals who reported excessive exercise also reported lower minimum BMI, younger age at interview, higher scores on anxiety, perfectionism, and eating disorder symptom measures, more obsessions and compulsions, and greater persistence.


CONCLUSIONS
Excessive exercise may be associated particularly with the purging subtype of AN as well as with a constellation of anxious/obsessional temperament and personality characteristics among women with eating disorders.
Shroff
Hemal
H
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7160, and Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, Towson, MD, USA.
Reba
Lauren
L
Thornton
Laura M
LM
Tozzi
Federica
F
Klump
Kelly L
KL
Berrettini
Wade H
WH
Brandt
Harry
H
Crawford
Steven
S
Crow
Scott
S
Fichter
Manfred M
MM
Goldman
David
D
Halmi
Katherine A
KA
Johnson
Craig
C
Kaplan
Allan S
AS
Keel
Pamela
P
LaVia
Maria
M
Mitchell
James
J
Rotondo
Alessandro
A
Strober
Michael
M
Treasure
Janet
J
Woodside
D Blake
DB
Kaye
Walter H
WH
Bulik
Cynthia M
CM
D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001007:Anxiety; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013694:Temperament