Exercise Addiction and Its Relationship with Health Outcomes in Indoor Cycling Practitioners in Fitness Centers.
Javier Bueno-Antequera, Carmen Mayolas-Pi, Joaquin Reverter-Masià, Isaac López-Laval, Miguel Ángel Oviedo-Caro, Diego Munguía-Izquierdo, Mercedes Ruidíaz-Peña, Alejandro Legaz-Arrese
Author Information
Javier Bueno-Antequera: Physical Performance and Sports Research Center, Department of Sports and Computer Science, Section of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, ES-41013 Seville, Spain. ORCID
Carmen Mayolas-Pi: Research Group in Development Movimiento Humano, Universidad de Zaragoza, ES-50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
Joaquin Reverter-Masià: Research Group in Development Movimiento Humano, Universidad de Zaragoza, ES-50009 Zaragoza, Spain. ORCID
Isaac López-Laval: Research Group in Development Movimiento Humano, Universidad de Zaragoza, ES-50009 Zaragoza, Spain. ORCID
Miguel Ángel Oviedo-Caro: Physical Performance and Sports Research Center, Department of Sports and Computer Science, Section of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, ES-41013 Seville, Spain.
Diego Munguía-Izquierdo: Physical Performance and Sports Research Center, Department of Sports and Computer Science, Section of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, ES-41013 Seville, Spain. ORCID
Mercedes Ruidíaz-Peña: Research Group in Development Movimiento Humano, Universidad de Zaragoza, ES-50009 Zaragoza, Spain. ORCID
Alejandro Legaz-Arrese: Research Group in Development Movimiento Humano, Universidad de Zaragoza, ES-50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
We studied the prevalence and possible association between exercise addiction and health in indoor cycling practitioners. In 1014 (492 women) adult indoor cyclists and 926 (597 women) controls with low levels of physical activity according to the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, we examined the risk of exercise addiction according to the exercise addiction Inventory and several health outcomes through a web-based experiment. The prevalence of a high risk of exercise addiction in cyclists was 13.3%, and it was higher in men than in women (16.5% vs. 10.0%, = 0.002). women cyclists with a high risk of exercise addiction had higher levels of physical activity ( < 0.001; effect size = -0.62, 95% CI: (-0.91, -0.32)) and anxiety symptom severity ( = 0.001; Effect Size (ES) = -0.59 (-0.89, -0.30)) than those with a low risk. For both sexes, cyclists with a low risk of exercise addiction had better social function, emotional role, and anxiety symptom severity compared with the controls (all < 0.002; ES ranged from 0.25 to 0.47). Higher anxiety symptom severity and cardiorespiratory fitness were the main determinants of exercise addiction in cyclists (both < 0.001). Our data suggest the importance of considering exercise addiction in indoor cyclists.
