Physical exercise is one of the main recommendations for maintaining good health. However, when practiced compulsively and without control, it can become a problem: exercise addiction.
An international study led by Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) and the Institute for Health and Biomedical Research of Alicante (ISABIAL) has identified perfectionism and competitive sports practice as two factors most strongly associated with the risk of developing this behavior.

The research, published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, analyzed more than 1,000 young adults (average age 25, 65% male), including both athletes and non-athletes. Participants completed questionnaires about exercise habits, personality traits, and motivations related to physical activity. To interpret the data, researchers applied artificial intelligence techniques capable of identifying complex patterns among psychological and behavioral variables.

“We know exercise is key for health, but when it becomes obsessive, it can have serious physical, psychological, and social consequences,” explains Thomas Zandonai, Ramón y Cajal Researcher in the Department of Pharmacology, Pediatrics, and Organic Chemistry at UMH. “We found that perfectionism and certain goals linked to body image—such as losing weight or gaining muscle—predict a higher risk of exercise dependence, particularly among those involved in competitive sports.”

The results show that perfectionism is the most consistent predictor, followed by the desire to lose weight, build muscle, and variables associated with sports intensity, among 27 analyzed factors. This pattern holds for both professional and amateur athletes, although signs of risk are already more frequent among amateurs than in those who exercise only recreationally. In contrast, the study found no significant differences between men and women.

Exercise addiction shares features with other addictive behaviors but is also connected to conditions like eating disorders and compulsive exercise, which complicates diagnosis. The authors emphasize that the findings represent population-level risk models, not individual diagnoses: not all perfectionist or competitive athletes will develop dependence, but the information can help identify those who may need support to maintain a healthy relationship with exercise.

“What we detect are phenotypes or risk patterns, not individual diagnoses,” notes Ana María Peiró, UMH professor and coauthor. She notes that the concept of perfectionism in everyday language does not always align with what validated psychological tests measure. However, Peiró advises that “if exercising causes distress or interferes with daily life, consulting health professionals is recommended.”

The study was funded by the Spanish Government Delegation for the National Plan on Drugs through the MORPHEO project (2023I031) and carried out in collaboration with the Addiction Science Laboratory at the University of Trento (Italy), a leading center in behavioral addiction research. It also served as a foundation for several undergraduate and master’s theses, as well as part of a doctoral dissertation at UMH, where students applied these methodologies to explore different aspects of exercise addiction.