| Popis: |
Unhealthy exercise (UE) is a core symptom of eating disorders (EDs) characterized by exercising out of compulsion, obligation, or to counteract the effects of recent food intake on weight/shape. There appears to be two distinct forms of UE that may be differentially associated with eating pathology (i.e., dietary restriction, binge eating). Specifically, compulsive exercise may be more characteristic of anorexia nervosa (AN)/restriction, whereas compensatory exercise may be more characteristic of bulimia nervosa (BN)/binge eating. One factor that may account for the differential presentations of UE among individuals with different core ED symptoms is emotion dysregulation, as research has found that unique emotion regulation difficulties characterize dietary restriction (i.e., primary emotion avoidance) and binge eating (i.e., secondary emotion avoidance). The current study examined differences in UE and emotion regulation among females who restrict their diet (n = 28), females who report binge eating (n = 31), and female controls (n = 71), with eating pathology defined based on a semi-structured interview. The study also explored whether emotion regulation deficits mediated the relationship between eating pathology and UE presentation. Results revealed higher levels of UE and emotion dysregulation in both the Restricting and Binge Eating groups, relative to controls, across self-report and interview measurements. Limited support for compulsive exercise being more prevalent in individuals with dietary restriction, and compensatory exercise and secondary emotion avoidance being more prevalent in individuals with binge eating, also emerged. Finally, emotion dysregulation and features of UE were not strongly correlated, and emotion dysregulation did not mediate the relationship between eating pathology and UE presentation. Future research should replicate these findings in a sample of individuals with AN and BN to further elucidate the distinction and overlap of compulsive and compensatory exercise. Continuing to examine the role of emotion dysregulation, as well as exploring alternative mechanisms, that link disordered eating and UE will be a critical next step in the development of UE prevention and treatment targets. |
