A recent UF study revealed that exercise can help people with eating disorders or potentially prevent the disorders from developing in the first place.
The study, published in the January issue of European Eating Disorders Review, revealed exercise therapy proved to have positive physical and psychological effects, according to a UF press release.
The team surveyed 539 students at normal weight and assessed their drive to be thin, typical exercise schedule and likelihood for exercise dependency.
It hopes to launch another study to monitor at-risk patients and see if exercise curbs their tendencies and symptoms.
Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes, owner and clinical director of Gainesville Counseling, said the study’s results are significant because the disorders are mainly psychological: Patients fixate on body image and attribute acceptance to their physical appearance.
People with eating disorders equate being overweight with negative traits.
“Food and weight have been conditioned in a dysfunctional setting,” Snipes said.
The clinic addresses a patient’s social support, thinking patterns and emotions during recovery. Snipes said successful treatments of eating disorders are social, psychological and biological, and can include exercise if it’s not approached as a substitute addiction.
“When it’s not being used to escape other things, exercise is not bad,” she said. “In addition to adequate coping, it can help them cope with life on life’s terms.”
While exercise is a component to a healthy lifestyle, its benefits vary for those with eating disorders. It has been avoided in treatment because of the risk of compulsive exercising — another condition that is often indicative of other eating disorders.
Roberta Seldman, a therapist at the UF Eating Disorders Program, said everyone needs to get their bodies moving, but when it comes to eating disorders, exercise has typically been viewed as unfavorable.
Seldman estimated that about 10 percent of UF students have a form of bulimia nervosa, 1 percent have a diagnosed form of anorexia nervosa, and 60 percent have a disordered eating pattern or follow myths about food and exercise.
