Exploring the direct or inverse association of physical activity with behavioral addictions and other self-regulation problems

This cross-sectional survey study had the aim of clarifying the relationships between leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and non-drug-related self-regulation problems (non-drug-related SRPs), including behavioral addictions, and the role of impulsive personality traits therein. Spanish university students (N = 329; M-age = 21.20) completed questionnaires for each of these constructs. Fitness and Bodybuilding LTPA was negatively associated with video gaming-related SRPs, r = -.13, p = .019, 95% CI (bootstrapped) [-.23, -.02], and positively associated with sex-related SRPs, r = .16, p = .005, 95% CI (bootstrapped) [.04, .30]. Endurance LTPA was associated with higher scores in eating-related SRPs, r = .17, p = .003, 95% CI (bootstrapped) [.02, .31]. The proportion of participants presenting scores above the clinically significant threshold in eating-related SRPs was 2.64 times higher for respondents in an Excessive Endurance LTPA cluster compared to the other respondents, Fisher's exact test, p = .017, OR = 3.10, 95% CI [1.26, 7.63], and the proportion of participants reporting vomiting to control weight was 2.12 times higher, Fisher's exact test, p = .040, OR = 2.43, 95% CI [1.06, 5.57]. The associations were largely independent of impulsive personality traits. We identified an elevated risk of eating pathology in a subgroup of participants with anomalously high participation in endurance physical activity. This overlap is consistent with the secondary dependence hypothesis of exercise addiction.