Beliefs about exercise: relationship to eating psychopathology and core beliefs among young female exercisers

Now you see it, Now you don't: compulsive exercise in adolescents with an eating disorder

BACKGROUND

Compulsive exercise (CE) has been proposed as significant in the etiology, development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs), resulting in more severe and enduring pathology. However, few studies have investigated CE longitudinally in adolescents with EDs. We aimed to test if adolescents show the same associations between CE and other clinical variables as previous research has found in adults.

METHODS

Three thousand one hundred sixteen girls and 139 boys from a clinical ED database were investigated regarding prevalence and frequency of CE and its relation to psychiatric symptoms, associated features and outcome. Denial of illness is common among adolescents and was therefore adjusted for.

RESULTS

Adjusted CE prevalence in girls was 44%, and CE was most prevalent in bulimia nervosa. As previously found in adults, those with CE scored significantly higher than non-CE on total ED severity, level of restriction and negative perfectionism. However, there were only minor differences between CE and non-CE patients on emotional distress, hyperactivity, suicidality and self-esteem. Among boys, adjusted CE prevalence was 38%, and CE boys scored significantly higher than non-CE on total ED severity. Initial CE did not influence 1-year outcome, although cessation of CE was associated with remission.

CONCLUSIONS

CE is a common clinical feature in adolescents with EDs and cessation is associated with remission. When controlling for denial of illness, CE had less detrimental impact than predicted. We recommend controlling for denial in studies on ED adolescents and further exploration of classification and treatment implications of CE.

Padrões alimentares e imagem corporal em mulheres frequentadoras de academia de atividade física

Objetivou-se avaliar os padrões alimentares, de atividade física e o grau de insatisfação com a imagem corporal em mulheres frequentadoras de academia de atividade física. 30 mulheres participaram do estudo. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: Teste de Atitudes Alimentares (EAT-26), Teste de Investigação Bulímica de Edimburgo (BITE), Questionário de Imagem Corporal (BSQ), Inventário de Sentimentos sobre Atividade Física (ISAF) e Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC). Quanto aos resultados, 40% das participantes apresentavam alteração no IMC, 9,9% apresentaram comportamento de risco para o desenvolvimento de transtorno alimentar, 57,7% apresentaram alguma distorção na imagem corporal e 30% mostraram atitude positiva com relação à prática de atividade física. Mulheres na faixa de 26 a 33 anos apresentaram mais atitudes alimentares patológicas do que as demais. Sugere-se a realização de estudos complementares com foco nas práticas de promoção da saúde envolvendo frequentadoras de academia de atividade física.