Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T20:48:21.047Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Treatment of Compulsive Over-exercising in Anorexia Nervosa: A Case Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2009

Clive Long  and
Jennifer Smith
Clive Long
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, St. Andrew's Hospital, Northampton, NN1 5DG
Jennifer Smith
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry, Leicester General Hospital, Gwendolen Road, Leicester LE5 4PN
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Despite being a long recognized feature of Anorexia Nervosa, exercising has been largely neglected as a topic for research and treatment. An increasing cultural emphasis on fitness has highlighted the dangers of becoming addicted to exercise and its role in the development and maintenance of Anorexia Nervosa. Most estimates of the incidence of exercise addiction in the anorexic population are high, and the behaviour would appear to pre- and post-date the eating disorder.

In view of this, the development of an effective treatment method for this particular problem is needed. One such approach that employs cognitive behavioural techniques, including exposure and response prevention is described and illustrated by case example.

Type
Clinical Section
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , October 1990 , pp. 295 - 306
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1980). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders. Third Edition; Washington D.C.American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Battle, J. (1981). The Culture Free Self Esteem Inventory. Windsor; NFER Nelson.Google Scholar
Blinder, B. J., Freeman, D. M. A. and Stunkard, A. J. (1970). Behaviour therapy of anorexia nervosa: effectiveness of activity as a reinforcer of weight gain. American Journal of Psychiatry 126, 1093–1098.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blumenthal, J. A., O'Toole, L. D. and Chang, J. L. (1984). Is running an analogue of anorexia nervosa? An empirical study of obligatory running and anorexia nervosa. Journal of the American Medical Association 252, 502–523.Google ScholarPubMed
Blumenthal, J. A., Rose, S. and Chang, J. L. (1985). Anorexia nervosa: implications from recent findings. Sports Medicine 2, 237–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carmack, M. A. and Martens, R. (1979). Measuring commitment to running. A survey of runners attitudes and mental states. Journal of Sport Psychology 1, 25–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chalmers, K., Cattalan, J., Day, A. and Fairburn, C. (1985). Anorexia nervosa presenting as morbid exercising. The Lancet, 286–287.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crisp, A. H. (1965). Some aspects of the evolution, presentation and follow-up of anorexia nervosa. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 58, 814–820.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crisp, A. H. (1967). The possible significance of some behaviour correlates of weight and carbohydrate intake. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 11, 117–131.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crisp, A. H., Hsu, L. K. G., Harding, B. and Hartshorn, J. (1980). Clinical features of anorexia nervosa. A study of a consecutive series of 102 female patients. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 24, 179–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dally, P. J. (1969). Anorexia Nervosa New York: Grune and Stratton.Google Scholar
Derogatis, L. R. and Spencer, T. M. (1982). The Brief Symptom Inventory: Administration, Scoring and Procedures Manual. Ryder Wood M.D.: Clinical Psychometric Research.Google Scholar
Dishman, R. K. (1983). Predicting exercise complicance, using psychometric and behavioural measures of commitment (Abstract). Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 15, 118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dishman, R. K. (1985). Medical psychology in exercise and sport. Medical Clinics of North America 69, 123–143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garner, D. M. and Bemis, K. N. (1982). A cognitive behavioural approach to anorexia nervosa. Cognitive Therapy and Research 6, 123–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garner, D. M. and Garfinkel, P. E. (1979). Eating attitudes test: an index of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine 9, 273–279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldfarb, L. A. and Plante, T. G. (1984). Fear of fat in runners: An examination of the connection between anorexia nervosa and distance running. Psychological Reports 55, 296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hodgson, R. J. (1989). Resisting temptation, a psychological analysis. British Journal of Addiction 84, 251–259.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Katz, J. L. (1986). Long distance running, anorexia nervosa and bulimia: a report of two cases. Comprehensive Psychiatry 27, 74–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, A. (1963). Primary and secondary anorexia nervosa syndromes. British Journal of Psychiatry 109, 470–479.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kirschenbaum, D. S. (1987). Toward the Prevention of Sedentary Lifestyles. In Exercise and Mental Health. Morgan, W. P. and Goldston, S. E. (Eds). Washington D.C.: Hemisphere.Google Scholar
Kron, L., Katz, J. L., Gorzynski, G. and Viner, H. (1978). Hyperactivity in anorexia nervosa: a fundamental clinical feature. Comprehensive Psychiatry 19, 432–439.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Long, C. G., Smith, J. and Cassidy, T. (1990). Exercise dependence: a survey of exercise habits, attitudes and knowledge in anorexic and normal subjects (in press).Google Scholar
Marlatt, G. A. (1985). Cognitive assessment and intervention procedures for relapse prevention. In Relapse Prevention. Marlatt, G. A. and Gordon, J. R. (Eds) New York: Guildford Press.Google Scholar
Mavissakalian, M. (1982). Anorexia nervosa treated with response prevention and prolonged exposure. Behaviour Research and Therapy 20, 27–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McNair, D. M., Lorr, M. and Droppleman, L. F. (1971). Profile of Mood State Manual. San Diego: Educational and Industrial Testing Service.Google Scholar
Meichenbaum, D. (1985). Stress Innoculation Training. New York: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Miller, W. R. (1983). Motivational interviewing with problem drinkers. Behavioural Psychotherapy 11, 147–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, W. P. (1979). Negative addiction in runners. The Physician and Sports Medicine 7, 56–63; 67–70.Google ScholarPubMed
Orford, J. (1985). Excessive Appetites: A Psychological View of Addictions. Chichester: John Wyllie and Sons Ltd.Google Scholar
Pasman, L. and Thompson, J. K. (1988). Body image and caring disturbance in obligatory runners, obligatory weight lifters, and sedentary individuals. International Journal of Eating Disorders 7, 759–770.3.0.CO;2-G>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rankin, H. J., Hodgson, R. J. and Stockwell, T. R. (1983). Cue exposure under treatment of alcohol dependence. Behaviour Research and Therapy 21, 435–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosen, J. C. and Litenberg, H. (1982). Bulimia nervosa; treatment with exposure and response prevention. Behaviour Therapy 13, 117–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, G. R. (1981). Modification of binge-eating in obesity. Journal of Behaviour Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry 12, 333–336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stunkard, A. (1960). A method of studying physical activity in man. American Journal of Nutrition 8, 595–601.Google Scholar
Thaxton, L. (1982). Physiological and psychological effects of short-term exercise addiction on habitual runners. Journal of Sport Psychology 4, 73–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Touyz, S. W. and Beaumont, P. J. V. (1985). A comprehensive multidisciplinary approach for the management of patients with anorexia nervosa. In Touyz, S. W. and Beaumont, P. J. V. (Eds), Eating Disorders: Prevalence and Treatment. Williams & Wilkins/Adis.Google Scholar
Touyz, S. W., Beamont, P. J. V. and Hook, S. (1987). Exercise Anorexia: a new dimension in anorexia nervosa? In Beaumont, P. J. V., Burrows, G. D. and Casper, R. C. (Eds) Handbook of Eating Disorders Part I, New York: Elsevier Science.Google Scholar
Tryon, W. W. (1982). A simplified time series analysis for evaluating treatment interventions. Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis 15, 423–429.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Turner, S. M. and Beidel, D. C. (1988). Treating obsessive—compulsive disorder, New York: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Vandereycken, W. (1990). The addiction model in eating disorders: some critical remarks and a selected bibliography. International Journal of Eating Disorders 9, 95–101.3.0.CO;2-Z>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veale, D. M. W. (1987). Exercise dependence. British Journal of Addiction 82, 735–740.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, G. T., Rossiter, E., Kleifield, E. I. and Lindholm, L. (1986). Cognitive-behavioural treatment of bulimia nervosa: a controlled evaluation. Behaviour Research and Therapy 24, 277–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yates, A., Leehey, K. and Shisslack, C. (1983). Running – an analogue of anorexia? New England Journal of Medicine 308, 251–255.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.