A descriptive study of exercise dependence: a short report among Italian and Japanese runners

Background: Exercise dependence is a phenomenon characterized by behavioral, physiological and psychological symptoms similarly to substance use disorders. Although exercise addiction is not classified as a mental health disorder. A descriptive study of exercise dependence in two different countries...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of addictive diseases 2021-01, Vol.39 (1), p.133-137
Main Authors: Zandonai, Thomas, Manresa-Rocamora, Agustín, Monese, Luca, Moya-Ramón, Manuel, Schena, Federico, Chiamulera, Cristiano
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictions
Asymptomatic
behavior
Cultural factors
endurance
environment
Exercise
Mental disorders
Mental health
Physical growth
Psychological problems
Running
sports
Substance use disorder
Testing
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Summary:Background: Exercise dependence is a phenomenon characterized by behavioral, physiological and psychological symptoms similarly to substance use disorders. Although exercise addiction is not classified as a mental health disorder. A descriptive study of exercise dependence in two different countries, Italy and for the first time Japan was performed. Methods: We interviewed 229 Italian and 198 Japanese runners by using the exercise dependence scale-21 (EDS-R), a questionnaire to assess exercise dependence. Results: In Italy, 86.9% of subjects were nondependent symptomatic, 4.4% wxercise-dependent, and 8.7% were nondependent asymptomatic. In Japan, participants were classified as nondependent symptomatic (49%) and nondependent asymptomatic (51%), but none considered as at-risk. Significant differences were found in all the seven EDS-R categories between the two cohorts. Conclusions: Exercise dependence is a complex with many contributing factors such as neuroadaptation to protracted exposure to exercise, runner's features and contextual factors. The role of social and cultural factors of exercise dependence would need further investigations.
ISSN:1055-0887
1545-0848
DOI:10.1080/10550887.2020.1829450