January 1, 1997Addiction Research190 citations
View Full PaperExercise Addiction: A Case Study
Structured PICO
P
Population
1 female excessive exerciser
O
Outcome
Fulfillment of Brown's (1993) addictive components (salience, tolerance, withdrawal, euphoria, conflict and relapse)
This case study provides empirical support for the existence of exercise addiction by demonstrating that an excessive exerciser fulfills established criteria for behavioral addiction.
Abstract
Exercise addiction is an area of great speculation with only limited evidence for its existence. Despite a growing body of such literature, there have been few empirical reports and very few case studies. This paper therefore outlines a case study of a female excessive exerciser. The case study has been modelled around Brown's (1993) addictive components of salience, tolerance, withdrawal, euphoria, conflict and relapse. It is demonstrated that in the case of this individual that exercise is addictive and fulfils all of Brown's addictive components.