Doing too much exercise can actually be harmful to your health
Over exercising is common among individuals who also have an eating disorder. Those with anorexia and bulimia are found to participate in it the most, while those with binge eating disorder and compulsive overeating are also disposed.
A study done by Chapel Hill took data from 3 international studies for their own research. Participants were asked specific questions on eating disorder symptoms, personality traits and exercise habits.
Excessive exercising is defined as working out for more than 3 hours a day and/or being so obsessed with exercise that t interferes with other parts of a person’s life. People who over exercise do it even when they are sick.
The group with the highest rate of excessive exercise was amongst anorexics who also purged, making up more than half of the respondents. Also those who had high levels of anxiety, a perfectionist attitude and a tendency towards being obsessive, were likely to be more extreme.
Those were have left a treatment facility where they gained weight are also likely to over exercise. They try to compensate for the difference in their weight by becoming obsessive with exercising.
Those who experience disordered eating are also prone to spending too much time at the gym. Their eating habits are unhealthy and they combine it to try to negate their binging behavior.
With the focus in our culture on losing weight no matter how thin you are, it’s no wonder so many people are obsessed with going to the gym. It brings comfort to those who live a stressful life and becomes a haven for others to compare their bodies and become stricter with themselves.
Many gym-goers also suffer from Orthorexia, an eating disorder where sufferers are obsessed with eating healthy food and working out, to the detriment of their social and work life.
The key is to ask yourself whether working out is stopping you from doing other things that you want to do.
- Do you constantly choose exercising over your friends and family?
- Do you become irritable and angry when someone or something stops you from working out?
- An attitude of anxiety when you get to the gym because you feel you need to get on the treadmill immediately?
- Do you care more about the calories burned than the way you feel?
- Do you work out until you are extremely exhausted?
- Do you get injured often from overwork?
These are common behaviors of people who over exercise. Remember to strive for moderation and your body will thank you.
