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Study Shows Ultrarunners Exhibit An Increased Risk For Exercise Dependency (www.trailrunnermag.com)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by marvinfreeman to c/running

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Report of a study in Trail Runner about exercise dependency. From the article:

The criteria used to evaluate exercise addiction include Salience, which refers to prioritizing exercise over other obligations; Conflict, which arises between exercise and responsibilities; Mood Modification, using exercise to enhance emotional well-being; Tolerance, requiring more exercise to achieve the same mental benefits; Withdrawal, leading to negative emotions when unable to exercise; and Relapse, returning to excessive exercise after reducing activity.

Interesting. We often have conflicts around our house about the time I spend running and recovering from running. And I definitely use running to help myself stay positive.

What do you guys think?

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[–] markstos 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The article says it “focused on 12 hospitalized ultra-runners”.

That’s a very small sample size… and everyone in the study had run to the point they needed hospitalization.

If you want to conclude that some people run too much, talking to a dozen runners in the hospital would be a good start.

[–] marvinfreeman 1 points 1 year ago

I understand your point and agree. And it's a tiny sample. But the the article wasn't about whether some people run too much but about whether addictive behavior can make people run too much.

If you want to look at harmful addictive behavior, asking runners how and why they ran themselves into the hospital seems like an okay starting place.