Exercise addiction and eating attitudes – A pilot study on Polish adolescents

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Methods This study was carried out with a sample of 45 adolescent psychiatric patients diagnosed with eating disorders and 45 teenagers training in sports departments (track and field, judo and gymnastics). The research group was aged from 14 to 20 years. The sample consisted of n = 50 women, n = 28 men, n = 10 nonbinary, and n = 2 refused to identify their sex. The authors used the following questionnaires: the Eating Attitudes Test – 26 items (EAT-26), the Exercise Dependence Questionnaire (EDQ), the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ) and the Inventory of Physical Activity Objectives (IPAO). Acceptable measurement accuracy (α > .70) was observed for almost all variables. Results The results revealed that the group of psychiatric patients who were diagnosed with eating disorders presented higher levels of problematic eating behaviours (P < .001), exercise fixation (P < .001), exercise commitment (P = .007), withdrawal symptoms (P < .001), exercise for weight control (P < .001), interference with social life (P = .035), insight into problems (P < .001), and obligatory exercise (P = .038) and lower levels of exercise for social reasons (P = .001), exercise for health reasons (P = .001), and exercise frequency (P = .016). The effect sizes of the differences between groups ranged from medium to strong (measured by Glass's biserial correlation coefficient). The findings of this pilot study indicate that the group of respondents diagnosed with eating disorders exhibited different attitudes towards physical activity compared with the group of adolescent athletes who represented judo, gymnastics, and track and field. Conclusions The obtained results can be used to assess the needs of adolescents seeking psychological and psychiatric support and can contribute to the development of appropriate treatment methods. obligatory exercise adolescents athletes psychiatric patients eating disorders Figures Figure 1 Introduction Involvement in physical activity offers numerous benefits for both physical and mental health. However, excessive exercise can have negative consequences that affect daily life and potentially lead to behavioural addiction. Exercise dependence, as first defined by de Coverley Veale[ 1 ], refers to physical activity with a regular schedule—often one or more times daily—where the individual increasingly prioritizes exercise over other activities. According to this definition, exercise-dependent individuals may experience withdrawal symptoms, such as mood disturbances, upon stopping their exercise routine, but they find relief from these symptoms with further exercise. Recent evidence suggests that exercise can become obsessive, compulsive, or addictive when individuals begin to experience negative physiological and psychological symptoms, including withdrawal symptoms, exercising despite injury, and impaired social functioning. Research indicates a developmental pathway in which exercise evolves from an enjoyable activity (‘want to’) to a more obligatory commitment (‘have to’) and, ultimately, to a psychophysiological dependence (‘must do’) that is no longer tied to the pleasure derived from physical activity[ 2 ]. Various terms are used to describe this phenomenon, such as exercise addiction, exercise dependence, compulsive exercise, and obligatory or abusive exercise. The most commonly used term is exercise addiction (EA) [ 3 ]. According to Griffiths (modified from Brown)[ 4 ], EA has the following six significant components. Salience involves the particular physical activity becoming the most important activity in the person’s life and dominating their thinking, feelings and behaviour. Tolerance is the process according to which increasing amounts of the particular physical activity are required to achieve the former effects. Mood modification indicates that certain physical activity can cause different mood-changing effects, e.g., a ‘buzz’, ‘high’ or even tranquillizing and/or destressing feelings of ‘escape’ or ‘numbing’. Withdrawal involves the unpleasant feeling states and/or physical effects that occur when the physical activity is discontinued or reduced. Conflict includes interpersonal conflict or intrapsychic conflict concerned with the particular physical activity. Finally, relapse is the tendency for repeated reversions to earlier patterns of the particular physical activity, even after many years of abstinence or control. EA can exist as a primary (driven by motivation associated with dedicated exercise) or secondary (with the common simultaneous co-occurrence of eating disorders) dependence problem[ 1 ]. In primary dependence, exercising is frequent and intense in anticipation of solving a significant problem or escaping from stress. In secondary exercise dependence, compensatory behaviour occurs, and exercising cannot be controlled to achieve the desired physical appearance, control, and weight loss. Furthermore, it is treated as a tool necessary to achieve the abovementioned goals[ 5 ]. Elbourne and Chen (2007) demonstrated the co-occurrence of both disorders in the continuum model of obligatory exercise, which suggests that a significant preoccupation with food and concern over weight and shape, which results in eating disorders, may be the extreme end of obsessive attitudes towards exercise[ 6 ]. Several studies have reported the co-occurrence of exercise addiction with other mental health disorders, specifically, not only eating disorders but also other behavioural and chemical addictions[ 7 ]. It is important to examine the scale of this phenomenon among adolescents, particularly those diagnosed with eating disorders and those who engage in professional sports. There are no data concerning the occurrence of primary and secondary exercise addiction among adolescents in Poland, and determining the real dimension of this behavioural problem in the country is meaningful. The purpose of this research was to investigate the possible differences in the course of exercise addiction among these two research groups. Methods Participants A total of 45 psychiatric patients diagnosed with eating disorders and 45 athletes engaging in judo, gymnastics and track and field were recruited for this study between 01/02/2024 and 31/05/2024. The final sample consisted of 90 participants recruited from these two research groups. The first group consisted of in-patients from the psychiatric ward for children and adolescents of the Voivodeship Psychiatric Hospital in Gdańsk. The second group comprised adolescent athletes from the Academic Sports Club of Gdańsk University of Physical Education and Sport. The young athletes have been trained in judo, track and field and gymnastics. The sample consisted of male (31%), female (56%) and non-binary (11%) participants, and two of the research participants refused to identify their sex (2%). The mean age of the entire research group was M = 16.62 years ( SD = 2.05). The average stature of the athletes was 170.8 cm, and the average stature for the group of psychiatric patients was 163.67 cm. The average body mass of the athletes and the patients was 60.76 kg and 50.6 kg, respectively. Among the adolescent athletes, 67% spent more than 8 hours per week on training, 22% trained from 6–8 hours, 8.9% trained from 4–6 hours, and 2.2% were involved in physical activity for only 1–2 hours per week. In contrast, only 4.4% of the psychiatric patients exercised for more than 8 hours per week, 6.7% exercised for 6–8 hours, 36% engaged in physical activity from 4–6 hours, 38% exercised for 2–4 hours, and 16% were active for 1–2 hours per week. The inclusion criteria for the group of psychiatric patients suffering from eating disorders were an age between 14 and 20 years, having a current psychiatric diagnosis of an eating disorder, not practising qualified sports and providing informed consent for participation in the research or the consent of a parent/legal guardian in the case of someone underage. The patients were excluded if they did not meet the age (14–20 years) criterion, practiced qualified sports, did not have a psychiatric diagnosis of an eating disorder, did not give informed consent to participate in the research, their parent/legal guardian did not agree to participate in the case of someone underage or withdrew their consent. In the research group of adolescent athletes, the criteria for participants included respondents who practiced qualified sports, were aged 14–20 years, and provided informed consent for their participation in the research or in the case of someone underage, a parent/legal guardian provided consent. The meaningful criterion was lack of a diagnosis of eating disorders, which we determined by a question at the beginning of our survey: ‘Have you ever been diagnosed with an eating disorder by a physician?’ The adolescents who did not meet the age criterion, were not involved in practising qualified sports, did not consent to participate in the research, withdrew their consent, whose parent/legal guardian did not agree to participation in the case of someone underage, or were diagnosed with any type of eating disorders were excluded from the research. Prior to the study, all participants provided written informed consent or the parents/guardians of the underage participants provided informed consent. The study was conducted with the approval of the Bioethical Committee of Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport (No. 2/2024) and in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The University Institutional Review Board approved the protocol (QU-IRB 1467-EA/21). All of the participants were informed that they could withdraw at any time from the research survey without any repercussions. Study design and methodology The research survey was conducted using an online questionnaire, which took approximately 15–20 minutes and was administered in the presence of a researcher. The online survey was completed by the participants individually. Each responder’s motivation to complete the survey was supported by the presence of the researcher and the information that after finishing, he or she would be rewarded with a small gift (a colourful sticker to choose from for the psychiatric patients and protein bars and sweets for the athletes). The research was an observational study and was conducted via a quantitative method with an author's survey, which consisted of the following instruments: The Polish version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) (Rogoza, Brytek-Matera&Garner, 2016)[ 8 ] was used to assess the eating behaviours of the study participants. The test consists of three subscales concerning Dieting (e.g., ‘Aware of the calorie content of the foods that I eat’), Bulimia and Food Preoccupation (e.g., ‘Have gone on eating binges where I feel that I may not be able to stop’), and Oral Control (e.g., ‘Avoid eating when I am hungry’). The participants responded to 26 items on a five-point Likert scale (1—always; 5—never). Those who achieved a score of 20 or more presented problematic eating behaviours and should consult with a health care professional. The Exercise Dependence Questionnaire (EDQ) (Ogden, Veale&Summers, 1997)[ 9 ], which was translated into Polish with independent forward-translation by two translators (both health care professionals) and reconciliation but without back translation[ 10 ], was used to assess the motivation to continue exercising. The test contains the following eight subscales: Interference with social/family life (e.g., ‘My level of exercising makes me tired at work’), positive reward (e.g., ‘After an exercise session, I feel more positive about myself’), withdrawal symptoms (e.g., ‘If I cannot exercise, I feel agitated’), exercise for weight control (e.g., ‘I exercise to control my weight’), insight into problems (e.g., ‘My exercising is ruining my life’), exercise for social reasons (e.g., ‘I exercise to meet other people’), exercise for health reasons (e.g., ‘I exercise to feel fit’) and stereotyped behaviour (e.g., ‘My weekly pattern of exercise is repetitive’). The participants responded to 29 items on a seven-point Likert scale (1—strongly disagree; 7—strongly agree). The Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ) (Pasman &Thompson,1988)[ 11 ] was used to measure the respondents’ attitudes related to exercising. The translation of the test into Polish was conducted in the same manner as the procedure for the previous test. The Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire has been used previously in Polish–Chinese comparative research in a group of adults, and an ideal Cronbach’s alpha = 0.854 was obtained[ 12 ]. The test contains three subscales as follows: exercise fixation (e.g., ‘When I don’t exercise, I feel guilty’), exercise frequency (e.g., ‘I exercise more than three days per week’) and exercise commitment (e.g., ‘When I miss an exercise session, I feel concerned about my body possibly getting out of shape’). The questionnaire includes 20 items (e.g., ‘I frequently push myself to the limit’). The participants marked how often they experienced each physically active situation on a four-point Likert scale (1—never; 4—always). Those who achieved higher scores on the questionnaire indicated a more relevant obligation to exercise[ 13 ]. Inventory of Physical Activity Objectives (IPAO) was used to check the time management and persistence in exercising of the respondents through two selected questions: (1) ‘Do you participate in classes (e.g., in a fitness club/gym)?’—yes/no response; if yes, ‘How many times per month?’—open question; and (2) ‘How long, do you regularly (without longer breaks) engage in physical activity?’—open question (Lipowski &Zaleski, 2015) [ 14 ]. The last question was a riddle, which aimed to distract the respondent’s attention from the previous questions concerning the subjects of nutrition and potential addiction. The content of the riddle was as follows: ‘Two women and two doctors enter an ice cream shop. Each of them orders an ice cream cone. When they get their order, there is only one strawberry, one chocolate and one vanilla. Why did no one complain about their order?’ Statistical analysis Data analysis was performed via SZTOS statistical software (Hryniewicz, Milewska, 2023)[ 15 ]. Table 1 shows the sample characteristics in general (n = 90 [28 males, 10 non-binary, 2 unknown]) concerning the mean age (M = 16.62; SD = 2.05) and in the subsamples of competitors (n = 45) and psychiatric patients with an eating disorder (ED) (n = 45). The statistical significance threshold for H0 rejection was set at P < .05. To analyse the measurement accuracy of the scales used, a series of reliability analyses were conducted using the Cronbach method (Cronbach, 1951)[ 16 ], and the results are reported in Table 2 . Accepted measurement accuracy (α > .70) was observed in terms of almost all variables, except for exercise commitment (α = .58), exercise frequency (α = .65) and the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (α = .69). Table 2 and Fig. 1 present the zero - order Spearman correlations (Spearman, 1904)[ 17 ] between all tested measurements. Table 1 Sample characteristics Characteristic n = 90 1 Athletes n = 45 1 Psychiatric patients with ED n = 45 1 p 2 Group Athletes 45/90 (50%) - - - Psychiatric patients with ED 45/90 (50%) - - - Gender < 0.001 Woman 50/90 (56%) 18/45 (40%) 32/45 (71%) Man 28/90 (31%) 26/45 (58%) 2/45 (4.4%) Unknown 2/90 (2.2%) 0/45 (0%) 2/45 (4.4%) Non-binary 10/90 (11%) 1/45 (2.2%) 9/45 (20%) Education 0.024 University 19/90 (21%) 14/45 (31%) 5/45 (11%) Secondary school 39/90 (43%) 19/45 (42%) 20/45 (44%) Trade school 4/90 (4.4%) 0/45 (0%) 4/45 (8.9%) Primary school 21/90 (23%) 10/45 (22%) 11/45 (24%) Technical secondary school 6/90 (6.7%) 1/45 (2.2%) 5/45 (11%) Post-graduation 1/90 (1.1%) 1/45 (2.2%) 0/45 (0%) ED diagnosis from the doctor < 0.001 No 45/90 (50%) 45/45 (100%) 0/45 (0%) Yes 45/90 (50%) 0/45 (0%) 45/45 (100%) Work 0.937 Casual work 22/90 (24%) 12/45 (27%) 10/45 (22%) Permanent work 6/90 (6.7%) 3/45 (6.7%) 3/45 (6.7%) Do not work 62/90 (69%) 30/45 (67%) 32/45 (71%) Physical activity_ number of hours < 0.001 12 hours 7/90 (7.8%) 0/45 (0%) 7/45 (16%) 2–4 hours 18/90 (20%) 1/45 (2.2%) 17/45 (38%) 4–6 hours 20/90 (22%) 4/45 (8.9%) 16/45 (36%) 6–8 hours 13/90 (14%) 10/45 (22%) 3/45 (6.7%) Over 8 hours per week 32/90 (36%) 30/45 (67%) 2/45 (4.4%) Organised group sports classes 0.002 No 43/90 (48%) 14/45 (31%) 29/45 (64%) Yes 47/90 (52%) 31/45 (69%) 16/45 (36%) Starts in the athletic competitions < 0.001 No 45/90 (50%) 0/45 (0%) 45/45 (100%) Yes 45/90 (50%) 45/45 (100%) 0/45 (0%) Height 167.23 (9.19) 170.80 (9.55) 163.67 (7.32) < 0.001 Your current weight 55.68 (13.85) 60.76 (12.83) 50.60 (13.07) < 0.001 Your highest weight 62.34 (14.61) 63.32 (14.48) 61.36 (14.83) 0.375 Your lowest weight 48.85 (12.88) 53.63 (12.67) 44.07 (11.32) < 0.001 Your ideal weight 58.15 (10.53) 60.80 (12.13) 55.50 (7.91) 0.043 Age 16.62 (2.05) 16.91 (2.29) 16.33 (1.75) 0.364 Note 1 . n / N (%); Mean ( SD ) Note 2 . Fisher’s exact test; Pearson’s chi-square test; Mann‒Whitney U test Table 2 The results of the Spearman correlation analysis among problematic eating behaviours (EAT-26), exercise fixation, exercise commitment, withdrawal symptoms, exercise for weight control, interference with social life, positive reward, insight into problems, exercise for social reasons, exercise for health reasons, stereotyped behaviour, exercise frequency, and the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ) Variable Id. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Problematic eating behaviours (EAT-26) 1 Exercise fixation 2 0.769*** Exercise commitment 3 0.506*** 0.613*** Withdrawal symptoms 4 .632*** .698*** .567*** Exercise for weight control 5 .819*** .753*** .438*** .611*** Interference with social life 6 .413*** .492*** .643*** .650*** .362*** Positive reward 7 .370*** .542*** .440*** .647*** .517*** .355** Insight into problems 8 .727*** .617*** .448*** .638*** .640*** .561*** .247* Exercise for social reasons 9 − .357** − .280** − .088 − .030 − .262* .078 .015 − .287** Exercise for health reasons 10 − .357** − .280** − .088 − .030 − .262* .078 .015 − .287** 1.000*** Stereotyped behaviour 11 − .014 .093 .219* .319** − .085 .324** − .021 .069 .253* .253* Exercise frequency 12 .020 .221* .306** .366*** − .022 .326** .249* − .065 .132 .132 .267* Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire(OEQ) 13 .496*** .668*** .802*** .709*** .481*** .671*** .611*** .412*** − .007 − .007 .233* .627*** Note. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 Results To determine the differences between the two groups distinguished on the basis of the variable levels, namely, problematic eating behaviours, exercise fixation, exercise commitment, withdrawal symptoms, exercise for weight control, interference with social life, positive reward, insight into problems, exercise for social reasons, exercise for health reasons, stereotyped behaviour, exercise frequency, and the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire, an analysis was conducted via the Mann‒Whitney U test (Mann, Whitney, 1947)[ 18 ]. The nonparametric method was used because there was a lack of assumptions met for parametric tests. A total of n = 90 observations were included in the study. In both groups, there were equally n = 45 observations. The assessment of the effect size was performed using the Glass biserial correlation measure (Glass, 1965)[ 19 ]. The results of the analysis revealed that the compared groups differed in all measurements, except for stereotyped behaviour and positive reward. For these variables, similar measurement scores were observed in both groups. In terms of the significant differences between the groups, a greater effect size was observed for problematic eating behaviours (rg = .94) and exercise for weight control (rg = .83), and these measurements were greater in the psychiatric patient group than in the athlete group. These differences between groups were the strongest. Further analysis of the measurements indicated that withdrawal symptoms, exercise fixation and insight into problems were also greater for the psychiatric patient group than for the athlete group, with rg values of .77, .71 and .52, respectively. These differences between the groups were medium in terms of effect sizes. Smaller effects were observed concerning exercise commitment, interference with social life and obligatory exercise; these measurements were higher in the psychiatric patient group than in the athlete group, with values of 0.33, 26 and 0.25, respectively. Nevertheless, the scores for exercise frequency, exercise for health reasons, and exercise for social reasons were higher in the athlete group than in the psychiatric patients group, with rg values of .40, .40 and .29, respectively. The results of the Mann‒Whitney U tests with rg effect sizes and descriptive statistics are presented in Table 3 . Table 3 The differences between the athletes and psychiatric patients with ED are variable in terms of the levels of problematic eating behaviours (EAT-26), the Exercise Dependence Questionnaire (EDQ) subscales and the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ) subscales Psychiatric patients with ED (a) Athletes (b) Mann‒Whitney U test Variable N M SD Me Mrang N M SD Me Mrang U p Diff a vs b rg Problematic eating behaviours (EAT-26) 45 4.53 0.70 4.77 66.67 45 2.13 0.71 2.00 24.33 60.00 b 0.94 Exercise fixation 45 3.16 0.57 3.20 61.54 45 2.13 0.69 2.00 29.46 290.50 b 0.71 Exercise commitment 45 3.93 0.67 4.00 52.90 45 3.59 0.65 3.67 38.10 679.50 0.007 a > b 0.33 Withdrawal symptoms 45 5.56 1.51 6.00 57.19 45 3.88 1.90 4.25 33.81 486.50 b 0.52 Exercise for weight control 45 6.04 1.48 6.75 64.28 45 2.87 1.32 3.00 26.72 167.50 b 0.83 Interference with social life 45 4.42 1.35 4.80 51.32 45 3.85 1.40 4.20 39.68 750.50 0.035 a > b 0.26 Positive reward 45 5.05 1.36 5.00 50.17 45 4.63 1.48 4.50 40.83 802.50 0.090 a = b 0.21 Insight into problems 45 4.93 1.67 5.75 62.90 45 2.11 1.23 1.50 28.10 229.50 b 0.77 Exercise for social reasons 45 3.21 1.54 3.33 36.51 45 4.33 1.38 4.33 54.49 608.00 0.001 a < b 0.40 Exercise for health reasons 45 3.21 1.54 3.33 36.51 45 4.33 1.38 4.33 54.49 608.00 0.001 a < b 0.40 Stereotyped behaviour 45 4.79 2.16 6.00 43.98 45 5.37 1.32 5.50 47.02 944.00 0.575 a = b 0.07 Exercise frequency 45 3.22 0.59 3.33 38.99 45 3.48 0.53 3.67 52.01 719.50 0.016 a b 0.25 Note. Mrang = mean rank; U = Mann‒Whitney U statistic; p = statistical significance; rg = Glass' biserial correlation effect size test statistic Discussion The aim of the study was to compare psychiatric patients with athletes in terms of exercise addiction and to identify the possible significant differences in specific aspects of this mental health issue. Furthermore, the authors wanted to examine the eating attitudes presented by the participants. The findings of this study indicate that there are significant differences between adolescent psychiatric patients with eating disorders and adolescent athletes presenting with primary and secondary exercise addiction. Because of the active eating disorders among psychiatric patients, the increased scores obtained for problematic eating behaviours and exercise for weight control appear to be proportionate. Lichtenstein et al. (2018)[ 20 ] found that 21% of youth patients with eating disorders reported exercise addiction. This finding indicates a notable co-occurrence of disordered eating and compulsive exercise behaviours, particularly among adolescents with existing eating disorder diagnoses. An older study by Blaydon and Lindner (2002)[ 21 ] that compared adolescents involved in sports and adolescents with eating disorders suggested that both groups may engage in problematic exercise behaviours, but athletes often experience exercise addiction as part of a performance-driven context, which is distinct from the pathology of individuals primarily diagnosed with eating disorders. Moreover, a systematic review by Godoy-Izquierdo et al. (2021) [ 22 ] highlighted that exercise addiction is common in the context of disordered eating among athletes, supporting the view that excessive exercise can be integral to the pathology of eating disorders. In contrast, the elevated scores on the subscales for withdrawal symptoms, exercise fixation, and insight into problems observed in the group of adolescent psychiatric patients with eating disorders compared with athletes may be attributed to more severe personality traits such as compulsiveness, perfectionism, and rigidity. For example, Hauck et al. (2020)[ 23 ] investigated amateur endurance athletes and identified links between exercise dependence and disordered eating patterns, which highlights exercise dependence as a mediator influenced by perfectionism. Additionally, psychiatric patients diagnosed with eating disorders often have high intelligence, which can increase their insight into their condition, and these traits are also common among those who engage in excessive exercise, as mentioned by Meyer et al. (2011) [ 24 ]. Based on the clinical experience of the first author, who is working with adolescents in the psychiatric ward of the hospital, the same observations occur; the first author is supported by 14 years of clinical practice and has conducted many psychological personality tests. The greater results observed with exercise commitment and interference with social life can be connected to the influence of eating disorders on the quality of life of suffering adolescents, resulting in negative consequences. The tendency to exercise out of obligation in patients suffering from ED has been mentioned in previous studies, e.g., Cook et al. (2015)[ 25 ]. The higher scores obtained in terms of exercise frequency, exercise for health reasons and exercise for social reasons in the group of athletes can be explained by the fact that none of the athletes included in the study were diagnosed with eating disorders, and they represented the healthy group of respondents. For this reason, their motivation to train could be significantly different from that of patients with eating disorders. Liu and Cao (2022)[ 26 ], while exploring how exercise motivation impacts eating disorders, reported that motivations rooted in health and social factors lead to better psychological outcomes than motivations related to weight control, which can contribute to eating disorders. Despite the insights gained from this study, there are several directions for future research to build upon these findings. First, the current limitations, including the partial reliability of the measurement instruments and the use of a forward-only translation procedure for the EDQ and OEQ, highlight the need for more robust methodological approaches. Future studies should employ validated, multidimensional scales that have undergone comprehensive translation. To ensure greater reliability and accuracy, expanding the sample size and incorporating a more diverse cohort of respondents would also strengthen the generalizability of the results. Moreover, longitudinal research could clarify the progression and causality between exercise addiction and eating disorders while examining psychosocial traits such as perfectionism in greater depth. Comparative analyses of different sports types and their association with problematic behaviours, coupled with qualitative methods for personal insight, would enrich the findings. Finally, incorporating clinical insights into research can guide targeted treatment strategies and preventive measures and foster collaboration among clinicians, sports psychologists, and educators for better support systems. Conclusion The observed significant differences between adolescent psychiatric patients with eating disorders and athletes can be helpful for understanding the course of their disorders and both primary and secondary exercise addictions. Key conclusions from this pilot study include the following: Psychiatric patients with eating disorders present more problematic eating behaviours, and they exercise for weight control significantly more often than athletes do. Withdrawal symptoms, exercise fixation and insight into problems were significantly higher in the patient group than in the athletes. Exercise commitment, interference with social life and obligatory exercise were significantly greater in the psychiatric patients than in the athletes. Exercise frequency, exercise for health reasons, and exercise for social reasons were significantly greater in the athletes than in the psychiatric patients. There were no significant differences in stereotyped behaviour or positive rewards between the psychiatric patients and the athletes. Health care professionals must examine the needs of adolescents seeking psychological and psychiatric help because this can contribute to the development of proper treatment methods for eating disorders and exercise addiction in the future. From the perspective of a coach of these adolescents, this information is valuable for recognizing problematic behaviours in their charges and reacting quickly by informing the parents/guardians or searching for appropriate professional mental health care. Further research with larger samples is necessary to confirm these findings and explore this problem to a greater degree. Declarations Acknowledgments The authors gratefully thank the patients and athletes for their cooperation during the study and the authorities of The Voivodeship Psychiatric Hospital in Gdańsk and The Academic Sports Club of Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport for permission to conduct the survey in their institutions. The authors also thank Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport for covering the costs of the research insurance. Funding There were no funding for this research. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval and consent to participate The research was approved by the Bioethical Committee of Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport (No. 2/2024). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants and their parents/legal guardians (in case of the underage participants). Patients and athletes were informed that their participation was a voluntary activity and that they had the right to leave the study at any time without giving a reason. Consent for publication Not applicable. Data availability Data from this study are available: https://osf.io/u4pa2/?view_only=919085578e894696b38da5f5bfc743dc Author contribution M.J-L. participated in conceptualization, validation, formal analysis, investigation, resources, writing – original draft preparation, writing – review and editing, visualization nad project administration. K.H. participated in methodology, software, data curation, writing – original draft preparation and visualization. P.S. participated in investigation. D.W. participated in conceptualization, validation, resources, writing – original draft preparation, supervision and writing – review and editing. References de Coverley Veale DMW. Exercise dependence. Br J Addict. 1987. 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1987.tb01539.x . Szabo A, Griffiths M, Demetrovics Z. Psychology and exercise. In: Bagchi D, Nair S, Sen CK, editors. Nutrition and Enhanced Sports Performance. London: Academic; 2019. pp. 68–70. Gapin JI, Petruzzello SJ. Athletic identity and disordered eating in obligatory and non obligatory runners. J Sports Sci. 2011. 10.1080/02640414.2011.571275 . Griffiths M. A ‘components’ model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework. J Subst Use. 2005. 10.1080/14659890500114359 . Szabo A, Demetrovics Z, Griffiths MD. Morbid Exercise Behavior: Addiction or Psychological Escape? In: Budde H, Wegner M, editors. The Exercise Effect on Mental Health. New Yourk: CRC; 2018. pp. 277–311. Elbourne KE, Chen J. The continuum model of obligatory exercise: A preliminary investigation. J Psychosom Res. 2007. 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2004.12.003 . Kwasi Ahorsu D, Imani V, Potenza MN, Chen HP, Lin CY, Pakpour AH. Mediating Roles of Psychological Distress, Insomnia, and Body Image Concerns in the Association Between Exercise Addiction and Eating Disorders. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2023. 10.2147/PRBM.S414543 . Rogoza R, Brytek-Matera A, Garner D. Analysis of the EAT-26 in a non-clinical sample. Arch Psychiatry Psychother. 2016. 10.12740/APP/63647 . Ogden J, Veale D, Summers Z. The Development and Validation of the Exercise Dependence Questionnaire. Addict Res Theory. 1997. 10.3109/16066359709004348 . Toma G, Guetterman TC, Tareq Y, Nizar T, Fetters MD. A systematic approach for accurate translation of instruments: Experience with translating the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale into Arabic. 2017; 10.1177/2059799117741406 Pasman L, Thomson JK. Body Image and Eating Disturbance in Obligatory Runners, Obligatory Weightlifters, and Sedentary Individuals. 1988; 10.1002/1098-108X (198811)7:6%3C759::AID-EAT2260070605%3E3.0.CO;2-G. Guo S, Izydorczyk B, Lipowska M, Lizinczyk S, Kamionka A, Sajewicz-Radtke U, Radtke BM, Liu T, Lipowski M. Sociocultural predictors of obligatory exercise in young men: A Polish-Chinese comparison. Front Psychiatry. 2023. 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1123864 . Ackard DM, Brehm BJ, Steffen JJ. Exercise and Eating Disorders in College-Aged Women: Profiling Excessive Exercisers. Eat Disord. 2002. 10.1080/106402602753573540 . Lipowski M, Zaleski Z. Inventory of Physical Activity Objectives—A new method of measuring motives for physical activity and sport. Health Psychol Rep. 2015. 10.5114/hpr.2015.49462 . System Zautomatyzowanego Tworzenia Opisu Statystycznego[Software]. https://sztos-it.com/ . Accessed 3 November 2024. Cronbach LJ. Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika. 1951. 10.1007/BF02310555 . Spearman Ch. The Proof and Measurement of Association between Two Things. Am J Psychol. 1904. 10.2307/1412159 . Mann HB, Whitney DR. On a test of whether one of two random variables is stochastically larger than the other. Ann Stat. 1947. 10.1214/aoms/1177730491 . Glass GV. A ranking variable analogue of biserial correlation: Implications for short-cut item analysis. J Educ Meas. 1965. 10.1111/j.1745-3984.1965.tb00396.x . Lichtenstein M, Griffiths M, Hemmingsen S, Støving R. Exercise addiction in adolescents and emerging adults – Validation of a youth version of the Exercise Addiction Inventory. J Behav Addict. 2018. 10.1556/2006.7.2018.01 . Blaydon M, Lindner K. Eating Disorders and Exercise Dependence in Triathletes. Eat Disord. 2002. 10.1080/106402602753573559 . Godoy-Izquierdo D, Ramı́rez M, Díaz I, López-Mora C. A Systematic Review on Exercise Addiction and the Disordered Eating-Eating Disorders Continuum in the Competitive Sport Context. Int J Ment Health Addict. 2021. 10.1007/s11469-021-00610-2 . Hauck C, Schipfer M, Ellrott T, Cook B. The relationship between food addiction and patterns of disordered eating with exercise dependence: in amateur endurance athletes. Eat Weight Disord. 2020. 10.1007/s40519-019-00794-6 . Meyer C, Taranis L, Goodwin H, Haycraft E. Compulsive exercise and eating disorders. Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2011. 10.1002/erv.1122 . Cook B, Hausenblas H, Crosby RD, Cao L, Wonderlich SA. Exercise dependence as a mediator of the exercise and eating disorders relationship: a pilot study. Eat Behav. 2015. 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2014.10.012 . Liu Y, Cao Y. The Effect of Exercise Motivation on Eating Disorders in Bodybuilders in Social Networks: The Mediating Role of State Anxiety. Comput Math Methods Med. 2022. 10.1155/2022/7426601 . Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6284901","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":453418404,"identity":"47d878a4-8568-4007-b744-27fd5aac6fe6","order_by":0,"name":"Magdalena Jaroch-Lidzbarska","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Magdalena","middleName":"","lastName":"Jaroch-Lidzbarska","suffix":""},{"id":453418405,"identity":"1c4cd3a3-a6b8-4d41-8ac8-517eaf7051f3","order_by":1,"name":"Konrad Hryniewicz","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Gdynia Maritime University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Konrad","middleName":"","lastName":"Hryniewicz","suffix":""},{"id":453418406,"identity":"d09e8eab-f4c0-4771-869f-af1d31447698","order_by":2,"name":"Piotr Sawicki","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Piotr","middleName":"","lastName":"Sawicki","suffix":""},{"id":453418407,"identity":"5d585cae-0718-44e2-bc14-e30e31e6fb7f","order_by":3,"name":"Dominika Wilczyńska","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"WSB Merito University in Gdańsk","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dominika","middleName":"","lastName":"Wilczyńska","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-03-22 17:23:12","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6284901/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6284901/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":82355655,"identity":"438407e6-4d1a-4b0c-8646-2b50d6136f33","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-09 11:15:21","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":220160,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eVisualisation of the relationships among the variables of problematic eating behaviours (EAT-26), the Exercise Dependence Questionnaire (EDQ) subscales and the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote\u003cem\u003e. \u003c/em\u003eA = Problematic eating behaviours (EAT-26), B-L = Exercise Dependence Questionnaire (EDQ) scales, M = Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ); when the green is darker = greater positive correlation, and when the red is darker = greater negative correlation. The figure is based on the obtained estimates of the Spearman correlation coefficients\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6284901/v1/c1b5bb413853aa7017e0504c.png"},{"id":109514419,"identity":"02ecc74e-57f6-4d68-93e3-ef89b090cdef","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-19 05:11:00","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":629970,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6284901/v1/5b52eeba-dbf0-4470-a519-cc794c65de2c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Exercise addiction and eating attitudes – A pilot study on Polish adolescents","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eInvolvement in physical activity offers numerous benefits for both physical and mental health. However, excessive exercise can have negative consequences that affect daily life and potentially lead to behavioural addiction. Exercise dependence, as first defined by de Coverley Veale[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e], refers to physical activity with a regular schedule\u0026mdash;often one or more times daily\u0026mdash;where the individual increasingly prioritizes exercise over other activities. According to this definition, exercise-dependent individuals may experience withdrawal symptoms, such as mood disturbances, upon stopping their exercise routine, but they find relief from these symptoms with further exercise. Recent evidence suggests that exercise can become obsessive, compulsive, or addictive when individuals begin to experience negative physiological and psychological symptoms, including withdrawal symptoms, exercising despite injury, and impaired social functioning. Research indicates a developmental pathway in which exercise evolves from an enjoyable activity (\u0026lsquo;want to\u0026rsquo;) to a more obligatory commitment (\u0026lsquo;have to\u0026rsquo;) and, ultimately, to a psychophysiological dependence (\u0026lsquo;must do\u0026rsquo;) that is no longer tied to the pleasure derived from physical activity[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. Various terms are used to describe this phenomenon, such as exercise addiction, exercise dependence, compulsive exercise, and obligatory or abusive exercise. The most commonly used term is exercise addiction (EA) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to Griffiths (modified from Brown)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e], EA has the following six significant components. Salience involves the particular physical activity becoming the most important activity in the person\u0026rsquo;s life and dominating their thinking, feelings and behaviour. Tolerance is the process according to which increasing amounts of the particular physical activity are required to achieve the former effects. Mood modification indicates that certain physical activity can cause different mood-changing effects, e.g., a \u0026lsquo;buzz\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;high\u0026rsquo; or even tranquillizing and/or destressing feelings of \u0026lsquo;escape\u0026rsquo; or \u0026lsquo;numbing\u0026rsquo;. Withdrawal involves the unpleasant feeling states and/or physical effects that occur when the physical activity is discontinued or reduced. Conflict includes interpersonal conflict or intrapsychic conflict concerned with the particular physical activity. Finally, relapse is the tendency for repeated reversions to earlier patterns of the particular physical activity, even after many years of abstinence or control.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEA can exist as a primary (driven by motivation associated with dedicated exercise) or secondary (with the common simultaneous co-occurrence of eating disorders) dependence problem[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]. In primary dependence, exercising is frequent and intense in anticipation of solving a significant problem or escaping from stress. In secondary exercise dependence, compensatory behaviour occurs, and exercising cannot be controlled to achieve the desired physical appearance, control, and weight loss. Furthermore, it is treated as a tool necessary to achieve the abovementioned goals[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. Elbourne and Chen (2007) demonstrated the co-occurrence of both disorders in the continuum model of obligatory exercise, which suggests that a significant preoccupation with food and concern over weight and shape, which results in eating disorders, may be the extreme end of obsessive attitudes towards exercise[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSeveral studies have reported the co-occurrence of exercise addiction with other mental health disorders, specifically, not only eating disorders but also other behavioural and chemical addictions[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt is important to examine the scale of this phenomenon among adolescents, particularly those diagnosed with eating disorders and those who engage in professional sports. There are no data concerning the occurrence of primary and secondary exercise addiction among adolescents in Poland, and determining the real dimension of this behavioural problem in the country is meaningful. The purpose of this research was to investigate the possible differences in the course of exercise addiction among these two research groups.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eParticipants\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA total of 45 psychiatric patients diagnosed with eating disorders and 45 athletes engaging in judo, gymnastics and track and field were recruited for this study between 01/02/2024 and 31/05/2024. The final sample consisted of 90 participants recruited from these two research groups.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe first group consisted of in-patients from the psychiatric ward for children and adolescents of the Voivodeship Psychiatric Hospital in Gdańsk. The second group comprised adolescent athletes from the Academic Sports Club of Gdańsk University of Physical Education and Sport. The young athletes have been trained in judo, track and field and gymnastics.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe sample consisted of male (31%), female (56%) and non-binary (11%) participants, and two of the research participants refused to identify their sex (2%). The mean age of the entire research group was \u003cem\u003eM\u0026thinsp;=\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;16.62 years (\u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.05). The average stature of the athletes was 170.8 cm, and the average stature for the group of psychiatric patients was 163.67 cm. The average body mass of the athletes and the patients was 60.76 kg and 50.6 kg, respectively. Among the adolescent athletes, 67% spent more than 8 hours per week on training, 22% trained from 6\u0026ndash;8 hours, 8.9% trained from 4\u0026ndash;6 hours, and 2.2% were involved in physical activity for only 1\u0026ndash;2 hours per week. In contrast, only 4.4% of the psychiatric patients exercised for more than 8 hours per week, 6.7% exercised for 6\u0026ndash;8 hours, 36% engaged in physical activity from 4\u0026ndash;6 hours, 38% exercised for 2\u0026ndash;4 hours, and 16% were active for 1\u0026ndash;2 hours per week.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe inclusion criteria for the group of psychiatric patients suffering from eating disorders were an age between 14 and 20 years, having a current psychiatric diagnosis of an eating disorder, not practising qualified sports and providing informed consent for participation in the research or the consent of a parent/legal guardian in the case of someone underage. The patients were excluded if they did not meet the age (14\u0026ndash;20 years) criterion, practiced qualified sports, did not have a psychiatric diagnosis of an eating disorder, did not give informed consent to participate in the research, their parent/legal guardian did not agree to participate in the case of someone underage or withdrew their consent.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the research group of adolescent athletes, the criteria for participants included respondents who practiced qualified sports, were aged 14\u0026ndash;20 years, and provided informed consent for their participation in the research or in the case of someone underage, a parent/legal guardian provided consent. The meaningful criterion was lack of a diagnosis of eating disorders, which we determined by a question at the beginning of our survey: \u0026lsquo;Have you ever been diagnosed with an eating disorder by a physician?\u0026rsquo;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe adolescents who did not meet the age criterion, were not involved in practising qualified sports, did not consent to participate in the research, withdrew their consent, whose parent/legal guardian did not agree to participation in the case of someone underage, or were diagnosed with any type of eating disorders were excluded from the research.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Prior to the study, all participants provided written informed consent or the parents/guardians of the underage participants provided informed consent. The study was conducted with the approval of the Bioethical Committee of Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport (No. 2/2024) and in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The University Institutional Review Board approved the protocol (QU-IRB 1467-EA/21).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll of the participants were informed that they could withdraw at any time from the research survey without any repercussions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eStudy design and methodology\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe research survey was conducted using an online questionnaire, which took approximately 15\u0026ndash;20 minutes and was administered in the presence of a researcher. The online survey was completed by the participants individually. Each responder\u0026rsquo;s motivation to complete the survey was supported by the presence of the researcher and the information that after finishing, he or she would be rewarded with a small gift (a colourful sticker to choose from for the psychiatric patients and protein bars and sweets for the athletes).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe research was an observational study and was conducted via a quantitative method with an author's survey, which consisted of the following instruments:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Polish version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) (Rogoza, Brytek-Matera\u0026amp;Garner, 2016)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e] was used to assess the eating behaviours of the study participants. The test consists of three subscales concerning Dieting (e.g., \u0026lsquo;Aware of the calorie content of the foods that I eat\u0026rsquo;), Bulimia and Food Preoccupation (e.g., \u0026lsquo;Have gone on eating binges where I feel that I may not be able to stop\u0026rsquo;), and Oral Control (e.g., \u0026lsquo;Avoid eating when I am hungry\u0026rsquo;). The participants responded to 26 items on a five-point Likert scale (1\u0026mdash;always; 5\u0026mdash;never). Those who achieved a score of 20 or more presented problematic eating behaviours and should consult with a health care professional.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Exercise Dependence Questionnaire (EDQ) (Ogden, Veale\u0026amp;Summers, 1997)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e], which was translated into Polish with independent forward-translation by two translators (both health care professionals) and reconciliation but without back translation[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e], was used to assess the motivation to continue exercising. The test contains the following eight subscales: Interference with social/family life (e.g., \u0026lsquo;My level of exercising makes me tired at work\u0026rsquo;), positive reward (e.g., \u0026lsquo;After an exercise session, I feel more positive about myself\u0026rsquo;), withdrawal symptoms (e.g., \u0026lsquo;If I cannot exercise, I feel agitated\u0026rsquo;), exercise for weight control (e.g., \u0026lsquo;I exercise to control my weight\u0026rsquo;), insight into problems (e.g., \u0026lsquo;My exercising is ruining my life\u0026rsquo;), exercise for social reasons (e.g., \u0026lsquo;I exercise to meet other people\u0026rsquo;), exercise for health reasons (e.g., \u0026lsquo;I exercise to feel fit\u0026rsquo;) and stereotyped behaviour (e.g., \u0026lsquo;My weekly pattern of exercise is repetitive\u0026rsquo;). The participants responded to 29 items on a seven-point Likert scale (1\u0026mdash;strongly disagree; 7\u0026mdash;strongly agree).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ) (Pasman \u0026amp;Thompson,1988)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e] was used to measure the respondents\u0026rsquo; attitudes related to exercising. The translation of the test into Polish was conducted in the same manner as the procedure for the previous test. The Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire has been used previously in Polish\u0026ndash;Chinese comparative research in a group of adults, and an ideal Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.854 was obtained[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e]. The test contains three subscales as follows: exercise fixation (e.g., \u0026lsquo;When I don\u0026rsquo;t exercise, I feel guilty\u0026rsquo;), exercise frequency (e.g., \u0026lsquo;I exercise more than three days per week\u0026rsquo;) and exercise commitment (e.g., \u0026lsquo;When I miss an exercise session, I feel concerned about my body possibly getting out of shape\u0026rsquo;). The questionnaire includes 20 items (e.g., \u0026lsquo;I frequently push myself to the limit\u0026rsquo;). The participants marked how often they experienced each physically active situation on a four-point Likert scale (1\u0026mdash;never; 4\u0026mdash;always). Those who achieved higher scores on the questionnaire indicated a more relevant obligation to exercise[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eInventory of Physical Activity Objectives (IPAO) was used to check the time management and persistence in exercising of the respondents through two selected questions: (1) \u0026lsquo;Do you participate in classes (e.g., in a fitness club/gym)?\u0026rsquo;\u0026mdash;yes/no response; if yes, \u0026lsquo;How many times per month?\u0026rsquo;\u0026mdash;open question; and (2) \u0026lsquo;How long, do you regularly (without longer breaks) engage in physical activity?\u0026rsquo;\u0026mdash;open question (Lipowski \u0026amp;Zaleski, 2015) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe last question was a riddle, which aimed to distract the respondent\u0026rsquo;s attention from the previous questions concerning the subjects of nutrition and potential addiction. The content of the riddle was as follows: \u0026lsquo;Two women and two doctors enter an ice cream shop. Each of them orders an ice cream cone. When they get their order, there is only one strawberry, one chocolate and one vanilla. Why did no one complain about their order?\u0026rsquo;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eData analysis was performed via SZTOS statistical software (Hryniewicz, Milewska, 2023)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e]. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e shows the sample characteristics in general (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;90 [28 males, 10 non-binary, 2 unknown]) concerning the mean age (M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;16.62; SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.05) and in the subsamples of competitors (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;45) and psychiatric patients with an eating disorder (ED) (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;45). The statistical significance threshold for H0 rejection was set at P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo analyse the measurement accuracy of the scales used, a series of reliability analyses were conducted using the Cronbach method (Cronbach, 1951)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e], and the results are reported in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. Accepted measurement accuracy (α\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;.70) was observed in terms of almost all variables, except for exercise commitment (α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.58), exercise frequency (α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.65) and the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.69). Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e and Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e present the zero\u003cb\u003e-\u003c/b\u003eorder Spearman correlations (Spearman, 1904)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e] between all tested measurements.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSample characteristics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCharacteristic\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;90\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAthletes\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;45\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePsychiatric patients\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ewith ED\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;45\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGroup\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAthletes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45/90 (50%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePsychiatric patients with ED\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45/90 (50%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWoman\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50/90 (56%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18/45 (40%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32/45 (71%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMan\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28/90 (31%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26/45 (58%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2/45 (4.4%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnknown\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2/90 (2.2%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0/45 (0%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2/45 (4.4%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNon-binary\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10/90 (11%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1/45 (2.2%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9/45 (20%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.024\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUniversity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19/90 (21%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14/45 (31%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5/45 (11%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecondary school\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39/90 (43%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19/45 (42%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20/45 (44%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrade school\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4/90 (4.4%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0/45 (0%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4/45 (8.9%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrimary school\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21/90 (23%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10/45 (22%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11/45 (24%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTechnical secondary school\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6/90 (6.7%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1/45 (2.2%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5/45 (11%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePost-graduation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1/90 (1.1%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1/45 (2.2%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0/45 (0%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eED diagnosis from the doctor\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45/90 (50%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45/45 (100%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0/45 (0%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45/90 (50%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0/45 (0%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45/45 (100%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWork\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.937\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCasual work\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22/90 (24%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12/45 (27%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10/45 (22%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePermanent\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ework\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6/90 (6.7%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3/45 (6.7%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3/45 (6.7%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDo not work\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62/90 (69%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30/45 (67%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32/45 (71%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical activity_ number of hours\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12 hours\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7/90 (7.8%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0/45 (0%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7/45 (16%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u0026ndash;4 hours\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18/90 (20%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1/45 (2.2%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17/45 (38%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u0026ndash;6 hours\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20/90 (22%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4/45 (8.9%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16/45 (36%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u0026ndash;8 hours\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13/90 (14%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10/45 (22%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3/45 (6.7%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOver 8 hours\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eper week\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32/90 (36%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30/45 (67%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2/45 (4.4%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrganised group sports classes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43/90 (48%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14/45 (31%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29/45 (64%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e47/90 (52%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31/45 (69%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16/45 (36%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStarts in the athletic competitions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45/90 (50%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0/45 (0%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45/45 (100%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45/90 (50%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45/45 (100%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0/45 (0%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHeight\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e167.23 (9.19)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e170.80 (9.55)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e163.67 (7.32)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYour current weight\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55.68 (13.85)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60.76 (12.83)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50.60 (13.07)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYour highest weight\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62.34 (14.61)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e63.32 (14.48)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61.36 (14.83)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.375\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYour lowest weight\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48.85 (12.88)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e53.63 (12.67)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e44.07 (11.32)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYour ideal weight\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58.15 (10.53)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60.80 (12.13)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55.50 (7.91)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.043\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.62 (2.05)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.91 (2.29)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.33 (1.75)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.364\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"5\"\u003eNote\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e. \u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e /\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e (%); Mean (\u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e)\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"5\"\u003eNote\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e. Fisher\u0026rsquo;s exact test; Pearson\u0026rsquo;s chi-square test; Mann‒Whitney U test\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results of the Spearman correlation analysis among problematic eating behaviours (EAT-26), exercise fixation, exercise commitment, withdrawal symptoms, exercise for weight control, interference with social life, positive reward, insight into problems, exercise for social reasons, exercise for health reasons, stereotyped behaviour, exercise frequency, and the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"14\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c12\" colnum=\"12\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c13\" colnum=\"13\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c14\" colnum=\"14\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eId.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProblematic eating behaviours (EAT-26)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise fixation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.769***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise commitment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.506***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.613***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithdrawal symptoms\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.632***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.698***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.567***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise for weight control\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.819***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.753***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.438***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.611***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInterference with social life\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.413***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.492***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.643***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.650***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.362***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive reward\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.370***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.542***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.440***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.647***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.517***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.355**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInsight into problems\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.727***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.617***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.448***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.638***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.640***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.561***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.247*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise for social reasons\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.357**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.280**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.088\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.030\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.262*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.078\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.015\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.287**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise for health reasons\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.357**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.280**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.088\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.030\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.262*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.078\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.015\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.287**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.000***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStereotyped behaviour\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.014\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.093\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.219*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.319**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.085\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.324**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.021\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.069\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.253*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.253*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise frequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.020\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.221*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.306**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.366***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.326**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.249*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.065\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.132\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.132\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.267*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eObligatory Exercise Questionnaire(OEQ)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.496***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.668***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.802***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.709***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.481***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.671***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.611***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.412***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.007\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.007\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.233*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.627***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"14\"\u003eNote. * \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, ** \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01, *** \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eTo determine the differences between the two groups distinguished on the basis of the variable levels, namely, problematic eating behaviours, exercise fixation, exercise commitment, withdrawal symptoms, exercise for weight control, interference with social life, positive reward, insight into problems, exercise for social reasons, exercise for health reasons, stereotyped behaviour, exercise frequency, and the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire, an analysis was conducted via the Mann‒Whitney U test (Mann, Whitney, 1947)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]. The nonparametric method was used because there was a lack of assumptions met for parametric tests. A total of n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;90 observations were included in the study. In both groups, there were equally n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;45 observations. The assessment of the effect size was performed using the Glass biserial correlation measure (Glass, 1965)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results of the analysis revealed that the compared groups differed in all measurements, except for stereotyped behaviour and positive reward. For these variables, similar measurement scores were observed in both groups. In terms of the significant differences between the groups, a greater effect size was observed for problematic eating behaviours (rg\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.94) and exercise for weight control (rg\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.83), and these measurements were greater in the psychiatric patient group than in the athlete group. These differences between groups were the strongest. Further analysis of the measurements indicated that withdrawal symptoms, exercise fixation and insight into problems were also greater for the psychiatric patient group than for the athlete group, with rg values of .77, .71 and .52, respectively. These differences between the groups were medium in terms of effect sizes. Smaller effects were observed concerning exercise commitment, interference with social life and obligatory exercise; these measurements were higher in the psychiatric patient group than in the athlete group, with values of 0.33, 26 and 0.25, respectively. Nevertheless, the scores for exercise frequency, exercise for health reasons, and exercise for social reasons were higher in the athlete group than in the psychiatric patients group, with rg values of .40, .40 and .29, respectively. The results of the Mann‒Whitney U tests with rg effect sizes and descriptive statistics are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe differences between the athletes and psychiatric patients with ED are variable in terms of the levels of problematic eating behaviours (EAT-26), the Exercise Dependence Questionnaire (EDQ) subscales and the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ) subscales\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"15\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c12\" colnum=\"12\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c13\" colnum=\"13\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c14\" colnum=\"14\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c15\" colnum=\"15\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePsychiatric\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003epatients with ED\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(a)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAthletes\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(b)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c15\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMann‒Whitney U test\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMe\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMrang\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMe\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMrang\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eU\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDiff a vs b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003erg\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProblematic eating behaviours\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(EAT-26)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.94\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise fixation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.57\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61.54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e290.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise commitment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e679.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.007\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithdrawal symptoms\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e57.19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e486.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise for weight control\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e64.28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e167.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInterference with social life\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e51.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e750.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.035\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive reward\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50.17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e802.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.090\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInsight into problems\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e229.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise for social reasons\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36.51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.38\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e608.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise for health reasons\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36.51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.38\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e608.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStereotyped behaviour\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.79\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.98\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.37\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e47.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e944.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.575\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise frequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.99\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e719.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.016\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eObligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e51.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e756.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.038\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"15\"\u003eNote. \u003cem\u003eMrang\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;mean rank; \u003cem\u003eU\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Mann‒Whitney U statistic; \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;statistical significance;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"15\"\u003e\u003cem\u003erg\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Glass' biserial correlation effect size test statistic\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe aim of the study was to compare psychiatric patients with athletes in terms of exercise addiction and to identify the possible significant differences in specific aspects of this mental health issue. Furthermore, the authors wanted to examine the eating attitudes presented by the participants.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings of this study indicate that there are significant differences between adolescent psychiatric patients with eating disorders and adolescent athletes presenting with primary and secondary exercise addiction. Because of the active eating disorders among psychiatric patients, the increased scores obtained for problematic eating behaviours and exercise for weight control appear to be proportionate. Lichtenstein et al. (2018)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e] found that 21% of youth patients with eating disorders reported exercise addiction. This finding indicates a notable co-occurrence of disordered eating and compulsive exercise behaviours, particularly among adolescents with existing eating disorder diagnoses. An older study by Blaydon and Lindner (2002)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e] that compared adolescents involved in sports and adolescents with eating disorders suggested that both groups may engage in problematic exercise behaviours, but athletes often experience exercise addiction as part of a performance-driven context, which is distinct from the pathology of individuals primarily diagnosed with eating disorders. Moreover, a systematic review by Godoy-Izquierdo et al. (2021) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e] highlighted that exercise addiction is common in the context of disordered eating among athletes, supporting the view that excessive exercise can be integral to the pathology of eating disorders.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn contrast, the elevated scores on the subscales for withdrawal symptoms, exercise fixation, and insight into problems observed in the group of adolescent psychiatric patients with eating disorders compared with athletes may be attributed to more severe personality traits such as compulsiveness, perfectionism, and rigidity. For example, Hauck et al. (2020)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e] investigated amateur endurance athletes and identified links between exercise dependence and disordered eating patterns, which highlights exercise dependence as a mediator influenced by perfectionism. Additionally, psychiatric patients diagnosed with eating disorders often have high intelligence, which can increase their insight into their condition, and these traits are also common among those who engage in excessive exercise, as mentioned by Meyer et al. (2011) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on the clinical experience of the first author, who is working with adolescents in the psychiatric ward of the hospital, the same observations occur; the first author is supported by 14 years of clinical practice and has conducted many psychological personality tests.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe greater results observed with exercise commitment and interference with social life can be connected to the influence of eating disorders on the quality of life of suffering adolescents, resulting in negative consequences. The tendency to exercise out of obligation in patients suffering from ED has been mentioned in previous studies, e.g., Cook et al. (2015)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe higher scores obtained in terms of exercise frequency, exercise for health reasons and exercise for social reasons in the group of athletes can be explained by the fact that none of the athletes included in the study were diagnosed with eating disorders, and they represented the healthy group of respondents. For this reason, their motivation to train could be significantly different from that of patients with eating disorders. Liu and Cao (2022)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e], while exploring how exercise motivation impacts eating disorders, reported that motivations rooted in health and social factors lead to better psychological outcomes than motivations related to weight control, which can contribute to eating disorders.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite the insights gained from this study, there are several directions for future research to build upon these findings. First, the current limitations, including the partial reliability of the measurement instruments and the use of a forward-only translation procedure for the EDQ and OEQ, highlight the need for more robust methodological approaches. Future studies should employ validated, multidimensional scales that have undergone comprehensive translation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo ensure greater reliability and accuracy, expanding the sample size and incorporating a more diverse cohort of respondents would also strengthen the generalizability of the results. Moreover, longitudinal research could clarify the progression and causality between exercise addiction and eating disorders while examining psychosocial traits such as perfectionism in greater depth. Comparative analyses of different sports types and their association with problematic behaviours, coupled with qualitative methods for personal insight, would enrich the findings. Finally, incorporating clinical insights into research can guide targeted treatment strategies and preventive measures and foster collaboration among clinicians, sports psychologists, and educators for better support systems.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe observed significant differences between adolescent psychiatric patients with eating disorders and athletes can be helpful for understanding the course of their disorders and both primary and secondary exercise addictions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKey conclusions from this pilot study include the following:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003ePsychiatric patients with eating disorders present more problematic eating behaviours, and they exercise for weight control significantly more often than athletes do.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithdrawal symptoms, exercise fixation and insight into problems were significantly higher in the patient group than in the athletes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise commitment, interference with social life and obligatory exercise were significantly greater in the psychiatric patients than in the athletes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eExercise frequency, exercise for health reasons, and exercise for social reasons were significantly greater in the athletes than in the psychiatric patients.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere were no significant differences in stereotyped behaviour or positive rewards between the psychiatric patients and the athletes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth care professionals must examine the needs of adolescents seeking psychological and psychiatric help because this can contribute to the development of proper treatment methods for eating disorders and exercise addiction in the future.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom the perspective of a coach of these adolescents, this information is valuable for recognizing problematic behaviours in their charges and reacting quickly by informing the parents/guardians or searching for appropriate professional mental health care. Further research with larger samples is necessary to confirm these findings and explore this problem to a greater degree.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors gratefully thank the patients and athletes for their cooperation during the study and the authorities of The Voivodeship Psychiatric Hospital in Gdańsk and The Academic Sports Club of Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport for permission to conduct the survey in their institutions. The authors also thank Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport for covering the costs of the research insurance.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere were no funding for this research.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthical approval and consent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe research was approved by the Bioethical Committee of Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport (No. 2/2024). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants and their parents/legal guardians (in case of the underage participants). Patients and athletes were informed that their participation was a voluntary activity and that they had the right to leave the study at any time without giving a reason.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData from this study are available:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ehttps://osf.io/u4pa2/?view_only=919085578e894696b38da5f5bfc743dc\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor contribution\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eM.J-L. participated in conceptualization, validation, formal analysis, investigation, resources, writing \u0026ndash; original draft preparation, writing \u0026ndash; review and editing, visualization nad project administration. K.H. participated in methodology, software, data curation, writing \u0026ndash; original draft preparation and visualization. P.S. participated in investigation. D.W. participated in conceptualization, validation, resources, writing \u0026ndash; original draft preparation, supervision and writing \u0026ndash; review and editing.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003ede Coverley Veale DMW. Exercise dependence. Br J Addict. 1987. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.1111/j.1360-0443.1987.tb01539.x\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1111/j.1360-0443.1987.tb01539.x\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSzabo A, Griffiths M, Demetrovics Z. Psychology and exercise. In: Bagchi D, Nair S, Sen CK, editors. Nutrition and Enhanced Sports Performance. 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Comput Math Methods Med. 2022. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.1155/2022/7426601\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1155/2022/7426601\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"obligatory exercise, adolescents, athletes, psychiatric patients, eating disorders","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6284901/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6284901/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground\u003c/strong\u003e This pilot study aimed to examine the scale of obligatory exercise between two groups of adolescents—the first had members who were diagnosed with eating disorders, and the second included youth engaged in professional sports.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e This study was carried out with a sample of 45 adolescent psychiatric patients diagnosed with eating disorders and 45 teenagers training in sports departments (track and field, judo and gymnastics). The research group was aged from 14 to 20 years. The sample consisted of n = 50 women, n = 28 men, n = 10 nonbinary, and n = 2 refused to identify their sex. The authors used the following questionnaires: the Eating Attitudes Test – 26 items (EAT-26), the Exercise Dependence Questionnaire (EDQ), the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ) and the Inventory of Physical Activity Objectives (IPAO). Acceptable measurement accuracy (α \u0026gt; .70) was observed for almost all variables.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e The results revealed that the group of psychiatric patients who were diagnosed with eating disorders presented higher levels of problematic eating behaviours (P \u0026lt; .001), exercise fixation (P \u0026lt; .001), exercise commitment (P = .007), withdrawal symptoms (P \u0026lt; .001), exercise for weight control (P \u0026lt; .001), interference with social life (P = .035), insight into problems (P \u0026lt; .001), and obligatory exercise (P = .038) and lower levels of exercise for social reasons (P = .001), exercise for health reasons (P = .001), and exercise frequency (P = .016). The effect sizes of the differences between groups ranged from medium to strong (measured by Glass's biserial correlation coefficient). The findings of this pilot study indicate that the group of respondents diagnosed with eating disorders exhibited different attitudes towards physical activity compared with the group of adolescent athletes who represented judo, gymnastics, and track and field.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions\u003c/strong\u003e The obtained results can be used to assess the needs of adolescents seeking psychological and psychiatric support and can contribute to the development of appropriate treatment methods.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Exercise addiction and eating attitudes – A pilot study on Polish adolescents","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-05-09 11:15:16","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6284901/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"04aaf80d-a4f0-43f0-aba1-1e54d763187e","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 9th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Rejected","date":"2026-05-19T05:05:05+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-18T13:32:35+00:00","index":103,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"88269008109593117156037741172043908582","date":"2026-05-17T10:08:05+00:00","index":102,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"141185693145487638402222718604485821685","date":"2026-05-15T09:39:21+00:00","index":99,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-19T05:10:51+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-05-09 11:15:16","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6284901","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6284901","identity":"rs-6284901","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}