Exercise Involvement and Eating-Disordered Characteristics in College Students

Abstract

While several reports have suggested a relationship between involvement in regular exercise activity and the presence of eating disorders or eating-disordered characteristics, other research has demonstrated no such association. Methodological difficulties and interpretive differences among researchers contributing to these disparate findings are reviewed. The present study investigated the relationship between exercise involvement and eating-disordered characteristics in 159 “exerciser” and 129 “nonexer-ciser” male and female undergraduates. Women who were involved in regular exercise demonstrated more bulimic/anorectic eating attitudes and a greater drive for thinness than the women who were not involved in regular exercise. Further, results suggest that women involved in regular exercise who show disordered eating concerns do not manifest the personality characteristics associated with eating disorders that are shown among female nonexercisers with similar levels of disordered eating concerns. The implications of these findings are discussed.