Exercise dependence and quality of life: sense-making among individuals with eating disorders

Background: Excessive exercise is identified in the DSM-V as a common symptom of both anorexia and bulimia, with up to 85% of eating disordered patients engaging in compulsive physical activity. Excessive exercise can further compromise both physical and psychological health, and individuals often risk social isolation. It has also been demonstrated that individuals with eating disorders who engage in compulsive exercise have worse outcomes and require longer hospitalisation making it an important factor in the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Although research has started to define compulsive exercise including the factors that contribute to its maintenance, there is currently very limited research surrounding how compulsive exercise affects quality of life. This data is essential to add to the understanding of compulsive exercise. Method: The study being completed is utilising Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore how female inpatients with eating disorders make sense of their own exercise dependency, and make attributions regarding its impacts on their overall quality of life. This study is completed in part fulfilment for the researchers MSc in Exercise and health. Outcomes: 1. To explore the physical and psychological impact that compulsive exercise can cause to understand the rationale of the study. 2. To outline current research to highlight why further research in this area is required, including why a qualitative paradigm was chosen. 3. To analyse any preliminary findings that have been collected