ArticleFrontiers in sports and active living2022
Understanding exercise addiction, psychiatric characteristics and use of anabolic androgenic steroids among recreational athletes - An online survey study.
Article in Frontiers in sports and active living, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exercise addiction: A review and evaluation of current research and theory.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2026Review
- Muscle Dysmorphia, Obsessive-Compulsive Traits, and Anabolic Steroid Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Stability of exercise addiction symptoms and co-occurring mental disorders - a follow-up study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Development and validation of dependence and craving measures specific to athletes who use anabolic-androgenic steroids.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Recent insights in the correlation between social media use, personality traits and exercise addiction: a literature review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Review
- Athletes with Eating Disorders: Analysis of Their Clinical Characteristics, Psychopathology and Response to Treatment.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Personality Traits Associated with the Risk of Exercise Dependence in Ultraendurance Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Exercise addiction: A narrative overview of research issues.Dialogues in clinical neuroscience · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: The purpose of this paper was to explore maladaptive behaviors among physically active individuals, including exercise dependence and use of anabolic steroids. Both exercise addiction (EA) and use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) correlate to high amounts of exercise and EA have been linked to eating disorders and other mental health problems. Methods: An internet survey was spread through fitness-related social media. Inclusion criteria were age ≥ 15 years and exercise frequency ≥ thrice weekly. Exercise addiction inventory identified those at-risk of EA (rEA). Characteristics of rEA were compared to those not at risk. In a separate analysis, AAS users were compared to AAS-naïve individuals. Results: In total, 3,029 participants completed the questionnaire. Of these, 11% screened positive for being rEA, and 23% for ED. Factors associated with EA included daily exercise, social phobia, eating disorders and OCD. Risk consumption of alcohol was a negative predictor. Thirty seven participants had taken AAS the last year. These were mainly men, bodybuilders/powerlifters and more often used amphetamines and opioids. Discussion: This exploratory study supports EA being strongly associated with eating disorders. Identified associations between EA and compulsive or anxiety disorders warrant further research to clarify if these associations arise prior to, together with, or secondary to EA.
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Registered trials
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