Associations between specific components of compulsive exercise and eating-disordered cognitions and behaviors among young women.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the associations between specific elements of compulsive exercise and both eating-disordered cognitions and eating-disordered behaviors in a nonclinical sample of young women.


METHODS
A sample of young women (n = 498) completed self-report measures of eating pathology (The Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire) and a relatively new measure of Compulsive Exercise Test.


RESULTS
Specific elements of compulsive exercise were associated with elevated levels of eating-disordered cognitions and increased frequency of eating-disordered behaviors.


CONCLUSIONS
These results support a multifunctional conceptualization of compulsive exercise, suggesting that some of the functionality of compulsive exercise may be akin to other forms of purging, and further supporting the notion of a possible functional equivalence between compulsive exercise and specific eating-disordered behaviors in terms of affect regulation.
Taranis
Lorin
L
Loughborough University Centre for Research into Eating Disorders, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom. l.taranis@lboro.ac.uk
Meyer
Caroline
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D003071:Cognition; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires