Potential for compensatory exercise engagement among individuals seeking weight loss: implications for eating disorder prevention and healthy activity promotion

Although weight loss programmes encourage exercise alongside dietary changes, some patients use exercise to compensate for perceived overeating and/or binge eating. Unlike non-compensatory exercise (which is not tied to eating or calories), this type of compensatory exercise can precipitate disordered eating, weight cycling and weight gain. Research is needed to understand the risks of compensatory exercise in weight management, and to inform interventions promoting non-compensatory exercise.