Besides their rigid exercise routines (usually mainly cardio-based), many of their other daily activities are also designed to optimize training effects (eg exercising abdominal muscles while reading). Many exercise addicts also exhibit disordered eating habits. It is important to note that large amounts of exercise do not necessarily put one at greater risk of addiction. Most elite athletes for example train for hours every day without being addicted. An important distinction here is that these athletes can comfortably take time-off (for example in the off-season), while an addict would struggle do the same. Athletes train in accordance with a plan specifically designed to lead towards a specific goal, while addicts train in response to an urge or impulse. For them, controlling their eating, weight and body has a kind of restorative function that helps to manage their anxiety. We might consider our attitudes towards exercise as a continuum, ranging from non-engagement at one end (ie not exercising at all), to addiction at the other extreme. Somewhere between the two lies a healthy commitment to regular physical activity. Sometimes a critical life incident can move someone from this healthy ‘middle ground’, too far towards the ‘dependence’ extreme. Initially the exercise may help them to cope emotionally with the stress, but this can then potentially spiral into an increasingly maladaptive habit, with less and less alternative coping options being employed. Exercise addiction is multi-causal. Factors that might put one at greater risk of such a spiral include insecure attachment, neoroticism, difficulty managing one’s mood / emotions, interpersonal difficulties, a high need for approval and of course low self-esteem (especially body dissatisfaction). Exercise dependence is currently not an officially recognized diagnosis, but it IS a real issue. While we all ebb and flow somewhat over time along the ‘exercise-attitude’ continuum, our challenge is ultimately to accumulate as much time in the middle ‘healthy commitment’ part as possible, while avoiding both unhealthy extremes.