Exercise addiction risk in recreational athletes: a cross-sectional study of psychological distress and food choice motivations in Jordan

BACKGROUND: Exercise addiction (EA) represents an emerging mental health issue among athletic communities, manifested by compulsive exercise with negative psychological and physiological consequences. Although EA phenotypically coincides with overtraining syndrome and burnout, no study has explored this athlete mental health continuum in recreational athletes, especially regarding comorbid psychological distress and maladaptive food choice motivations. OBJECTIVE: To explore EA risk as an athlete mental health concern among Jordanian recreational athletes, examining the EAI screening-positive rate, associations with psychological distress and maladaptive food choice motivations, and multifactorial risk predictors including demographic, behavioral, and motivational variables. METHODS: A cross-sectional study recruited 1,036 recreational athletes (18-45 years) across Jordanian fitness facilities. Subjects completed validated Arabic versions of the EA Inventory, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, and Athlete Food Choice Questionnaire. Binary logistic regression determined independent predictors. RESULTS: = 0.336; accuracy = 72.9%) identified independent predictors: male gender (OR = 1.66), high physical activity (dose-response: low OR = 0.13, moderate OR = 0.20 vs. high reference), lower stress levels compared to extremely severe stress (ORs 0.29-0.47; Normal through Moderate levels reaching conventional significance), and performance-oriented eating (OR = 1.12). Living alone (OR = 0.60) and hedonic food motivations showed protective associations. CONCLUSIONS: This first integrated assessment of EA risk in an Arabic-speaking recreational-athlete sample identified a high EAI screening-positive rate within a fitness-oriented Jordanian sample, together with multifactorial associations involving male gender, higher recent activity, psychological stress, and maladaptive eating patterns; however, this screening-positive rate should be interpreted cautiously because the EAI is a screening instrument rather than a diagnostic tool.