ABSTRACT
People with exercise addiction experience loss of control, such that exercise becomes an obligation and excessive. Although exercise addiction is not officially classified as a mental health disorder, it is characterised by similar negative effects on emotional and social health as other addictions. Primary exercise addiction differs from excessive exercise seen in people with eating disorders (also known as secondary exercise addiction), in which exercise represents a means to control weight. The relationship between physical self-concept and exercise identity, perfectionism, and personality factors with exercise addiction is discussed in this chapter along with measurement and treatment. Ongoing research continues to be conducted across the globe, and mental health professionals are becoming increasingly cognisant of an all-too-easy to mask issue that plagues a select segment of the exercising female population.
