Jornal de Distúrbios Alimentares e Nutricionais

Excessive physical exercise and physical self-concept in eating disorders

Marilou Ouellet

Statement of the Problem: Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are among the most common chronic diseases in adolescents and young adults (Garner, 2004). Those eating disorders (ED) have mortality rates from up to 21% (Huas, 2013), making ED one of the deadliest mental health diseases (Fichter, Quadflieg, & Hedlund, 2008). Among inappropriate compensatory behaviors such as vomiting or laxative abuse used by patients, excessive physical exercise (EPE) is very worrisome for clinical teams since patients who present EPE have poorer prognosis than non-exerciser patients (StilesShields, DclinPsy, Lock, & Le Grange, 2015). EPE is defined by an abnormal amount of physical activity combined with a compulsive need to do physical exercise. If other compensatory behaviors are well controlled during hospitalization, EPE is not cared directly during treatments since there is a lack of empirical knowledge about this behavior. Those issues highlight the need to study physical self-concept as a key construct. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: This research aims to study relations between quantitative and compulsive EPE components and physical self-concept in ED patients.