Citation

Cook B, Luke R. Int. J. Ment. Health Addiction 2017; 15(2): 444-451.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s11469-017-9745-z

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Exercise dependence (EXD) has been documented in several types of athletes and physically active individuals, yet prevalence rates in cyclists are unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine primary and secondary variants of EXD in cyclists. Cross-sectional survey. Cyclists recruited from the Sea Otter Classic bike races (N = 179; M age = 32.47 years, SD = 12.94; 69.83% male; 74.30% Caucasian) completed measures of race history, exercise dependence, eating disorder risk, and exercise amount. Prevalence of at-risk for primary EXD was 8.24% and secondary EXD was 1.18%. A majority of participants reported being symptomatic of primary EXD (70.0%). A high proportion of cyclists may be experiencing symptoms of primary EXD and few exhibit eating disorder risk.

RESULTS may inform coaches and therapists about risk for exercise pathology in cyclists.

KEYWORDS: Bicycles; Bicyclists; Bicycling

Language: en