Fitspo‘Beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin. It’s about knowing and accepting who you are.’
ELLEN DEGENERES
I remember the first time I walked into one of these popular fitness and wellness festivals in London. Immediately I was surrounded by people dressed in Lycra, giant posters advertising every protein supplement under the sun, and the sounds of an instructor shouting at a group to ‘Push harder! Feel the burn! If you’re not sweating you might as well not be here!’ The instant feeling of inadequacy was intense.
Exercise is, undoubtedly, one of the key aspects of health. But the fitness industry is primarily focused on aesthetics. Just look at the most popular fitness accounts on Instagram. They’re not necessarily the fittest or healthiest – they’re the people with the most aesthetically pleasing bodies. They’re attractive people with flat stomachs (preferably visible abs), small waists and perfectly round behinds.
Alongside the changing trends in what we should and shouldn’t be eating, there has been a confusing, ever-changing landscape of popularity in fitness. Boutique indoor cycling studios compete with outdoor boot-camp classes, yoga, Pilates, barre, CrossFit, and all manner of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) classes. These HIIT classes all compete to be the hardest workout in existence – the workout that burns the most calories, or the class that’ll get you shredded the fastest. It’s extreme, it’s aggressive and it’s intimidating.
FitspoIf you’ve spent some time on social media recently, you’ll see the trend for ‘strong, not skinny’.
The rise of ‘fitspiration’ or ‘fitspo’ has primarily been on Instagram. These are images of aspirational fitness (fitness + inspiration = fitspiration), and as they are images, they are heavily focused on aesthetics. There are millions and millions of fitspo images on Instagram. The term is a play on the term ‘thinspiration’, which is often found on pro-anorexia sites. But where thinspiration websites support and encourage weight loss and eating disorders, fitspiration supposedly advocates a fit and healthy lifestyle. The question, though, is whether fitspo is really just a more socially acceptable form of thinspo. Fitspo aligns itself perfectly with societal ideals of health – for women it’s seeking the thin ideal, while for men it’s the lean, muscular ideal. And it plays perfectly into societal ideals of youth and beauty, reinforcing these ideas to vulnerable people. You would expect that a highly unattainable fit ideal would have a similarly negative effect to the extreme and equally unattainable thin ideal of thinspo. And it does: both types of content end up being surprisingly similar, with themes of dieting and restriction, weight stigma and guilt-inducing messages.117
Fitspo is designed to motivate someone to exercise and to feel good about themselves, but it achieves the exact opposite. The majority of fitspo images feature just one body type: thin and toned,118 which adds to the narrative that fitness can only look one way, and if you look different, then fitness isn’t for you. In trying to be inspirational, fitspo ends up excluding people, worsening people’s body image and contributing to lower self-esteem, so people feel worse about themselves for not matching up to this ideal fitness standard.119 In addition, fitspiration sexually objectifies the fit body, with text and images encouraging people to see themselves as objects or ornaments, and ignoring bodily signals like pain. Despite apparently being focused on fitness, the actual focus of fitspo is more on the body as an object to be admired than a body that can move.
How many posters or Instagram captions have you seen that show this, whether it’s the controversial Protein World ad that asked ‘Are you beach body ready?’, or a fitness studio telling you pain is weakness leaving the body, or a fitness blogger posting a photo where they’ve distorted and twisted their body into the most aesthetically and sexually appealing position – usually emphasising the tiny waist relative to the ‘booty gains’. Half of fitspo images of women don’t even include their face: the whole focus is on the body.
Although fitspo and the ‘strong, not skinny’ movement had good intentions, it still very much sits neatly within the societal beauty ideal and being completely in control of your health and weight. The desire for a seriously fit-looking body is just a variation on the desire for a thin body. It may be disguised as being health-focused, but it’s ill-advised as it still values a single body type as being better and being worth more, and it’s especially problematic when that body type is impossible for most people to achieve. In the end, it’s arguably just another way to shame men and women who don’t fit into this unrealistic ideal.
For the followers of fitspo this is additionally problematic, as by following or liking these pictures we’re publicly endorsing this fit ideal body shape, making it personal. This makes it gain further importance in our minds, as it then goes beyond simply representing a societal ideal; it also represents our personal ideal. Then every time we fall short of this ideal, when we compare ourselves with these images or people, it becomes a personal failure. And that hurts more. It exacerbates the negative effects on our self-worth. On top of that, the popularity of these images then just strengthens the narrative that this is the ideal body through endorsement from others – we can see which images on Instagram have the most likes or the most comments. And this reinforces the idea that this should be our personal goal.
Unlike the images we tend to see on television or on magazine covers, these images of the fit ideal aren’t just celebrities and models – they’re people just like us, with jobs and commitments, who haven’t been Photoshopped or airbrushed (we assume). As we discussed in the chapter on social media, this makes us feel that these are peers who are good people to compare ourselves with, and that upward social comparison doesn’t end well.
Once someone who posts fitspo sees that their body is giving them external validation in the form of likes and follows, it’s hard to resist. So much so that the people posting this kind of content are more likely to have disordered eating behaviour and unhealthy, obsessive attitudes towards exercise.120 While giving the illusion of absolute health and well-being, it turns out these people are not necessarily healthy at all. In pursuit of achieving and maintaining the ‘ideal’ fit body shape, they’ve sacrificed their mental health.
Most important, perhaps, is the fact that these posts and images, despite their intentions to motivate, do not lead people to exercise more.121 In fact, it may lead people to exercise less due to the negative effects on body image and self-esteem.122
Benefits of exerciseThe benefits of exercise go far beyond simply aesthetics. To reduce exercise and movement down to simply appearance does it a huge disservice. The link between exercise and focus on aesthetics often boils down to exercise being used as a tool for weight loss, while other health benefits are just ignored or not seen as important enough. In almost any research on exercise, body weight is used as the measure of success or failure, and most people who sign up for the gym or personal training cite this as their goal. If weight loss doesn’t happen, it’s not that the exercise didn’t work (because everybody knows of course it works), it’s that the person didn’t do everything they were supposed to, they didn’t try hard enough, or they overcompensated by eating more. In other words, the blame is placed on the individual for failing to lose weight.
Experiencing higher levels of hunger after exercise is a normal biological response that happens to most people. This is why exercise isn’t a magic bullet for weight loss, despite what we’ve been told. When you exercise, your body demands more energy; it increases your hunger signals, and so you eat more. That’s not a personal failure, that’s responding to basic bodily signals. And as we’ve already seen, fighting hunger signals and fighting biology just doesn’t work.
If someone embarks on an exercise programme that doesn’t lead to significant (or any) weight loss, they’re more likely to give up because they believe that it hasn’t worked, it hasn’t helped. This is totally the wrong way to look at exercise, and I by no means wish to blame people who have experienced this. I think it’s totally understandable, it’s the fault of how we as a society have fixated on weight above every other measure of health. Having a wider, more transparent view of the benefits of exercise is so important. The effectiveness of exercise shouldn’t be judged exclusively on changes in body weight. There are so many other incredible physiological and psychological benefits to exercise, independent of weight loss.
Regular exercise lowers general risk of dying prematurely and can prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Regular exercise has a considerable positive effect on markers of health and various risk factors for disease, such as reduced blood triglyceride levels, more favourable cholesterol levels and reduced blood pressure,123 all of which decreases the chance of developing heart disease. There is also a positive effect on blood sugar balance, which reduces the chance of developing type 2 diabetes, independently of weight loss.124
The type of exercise can also play a role. For example, aerobic exercise such as running can reduce resting heart rate and blood pressure, as well as improve mood.125
In older adults, particularly women after menopause, bone mineral density gradually decreases. This is an inevitable part of ageing and means that postmenopausal women are more likely to get fractures and broken bones. Long term, exercise is associated with decreased fracture incidence and slower decrease in bone mineral density in elderly women.126 You can’t stop the loss of bone mineral density, but exercise can at least slow it down.
Cognitive decline is another unfortunate aspect of ageing. Research on the effects of exercise on cognition and Alzheimer’s disease – the most common type of dementia – show that movement is highly beneficial. For example, in one study, 1,740 people over the age of 65 were asked about the number of times per week they had exercised for at least 15 minutes over the last year. After 6 years, there were far more patients with Alzheimer’s in the group who didn’t do any exercise, compared with those who exercised at least three times per week. Other studies have reported similar positive effects of exercise on dementia.127
There are several proposed biological explanations for this, including increased blood flow to the brain and dopamine release. But these don’t really explain why there are differences between groups of people – for example, why exercise has a stronger positive effect on women than men, and why the positive effects of exercise seem to increase with age, so someone aged 70 would get more benefit than someone age 60. For now, we don’t know the full explanation as to why exercise helps, but we can be sure that it does.
It’s important to note that these kinds of health markers (cholesterol levels, blood pressure, bone density, etc.) are not obviously accessible to most people, whereas weight is far more obvious and easier to measure. Sadly, this means that most people are effectively blind to these benefits, and won’t realise when they occur. Not losing weight does not mean that exercise hasn’t had any benefit.
With all these incredible benefits to our physical health, it’s no wonder that being active and moving our bodies means we’re less likely to die sooner and more likely to live longer, healthier lives. But what about mental health?
Mental healthYou’ll often see memes on Facebook that claim you shouldn’t take pills for depression – you should go for a run instead! Or a slightly different one with an image of nature saying, ‘This is an antidepressant,’ followed by an image of a pill with the text ‘This is shit.’ Not only is this pill-shaming, which is incredibly unhelpful and stigmatising, but it’s also a massive overstatement of the evidence.
There does seem to be a link between exercise and mental health, and it’s worth exploring, as many people report that running in particular helps clear their head and provides a distraction from the anxieties and stresses of everyday life.
Doing some form of exercise is consistently linked to better mental health outcomes. People who engage in regular exercise are less likely to experience depression and anxiety years down the line. There is also growing evidence that exercise can help reduce the symptoms of depression.128 These effects seem to be greatest in those with treatment-resistant depression, and it can take up to eight to twelve weeks to really see significant changes in symptoms. While the exact duration and amount of exercise needed will depend on the person, it seems that as little as one hour per week can produce benefits,129 and it doesn’t even seem to matter what type of exercise is done, whether it’s aerobic (running) or nonaerobic (strength training or yoga). What matters is that it has to be consistent and fairly regular.
But we should be hesitant about suggesting that lack of exercise causes depression, or that exercise can treat depression. Depression is complex and often related to issues such as trauma, low self-esteem and stress, which exercise doesn’t get to the root of. Movement can be extremely beneficial for distracting the mind, but it can’t necessarily process traumatic events in the same way that therapy can. It’s also important to note that some individuals, for medical reasons or due to disability, are unable or not advised to exercise. In cases of severe depression in particular, someone might need medication to even get to the point where they feel they can exercise, otherwise they may be in such a low place that any kind of activity feels like too much. The benefits of exercise in depression are real and significant, but don’t negate the importance of appropriate treatment using medication or talking therapy.
One possible partial explanation for the link between nature/running and depression is vitamin D. Research shows that there is a link between symptoms of depression and low levels of vitamin D in the body.130 However, what the research doesn’t show is whether low vitamin D levels cause depression, whether low vitamin D levels occur because of depression, or whether there’s some other explanation involved. It’s possible that low vitamin D levels is one of many factors that contribute to someone feeling depressed, but it’s also possible that people who have depression go outdoors less, and so have low vitamin D levels because of that. (A quick reminder: our bodies make vitamin D in response to activation by UV rays from the sun, which cannot penetrate glass.) It has been suggested that a vitamin D supplement could be beneficial for someone with depression, but only if they were deficient to begin with. It wouldn’t help someone who already has vitamin D levels within the normal range.
There has been quite a lot of interest in the link between exercise and depression, but less so with anxiety disorders. That exercise can help with depression has pretty much reached the level of ‘it’s common sense’, likely because it’s been spoken about more, and also because the clinical diversity of anxiety disorders doesn’t allow for generalisation across the board. What works for social anxiety won’t be the same as for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or panic disorder.
There is some evidence to suggest that exercise and movement can help with some forms of anxiety and panic disorder,128 but just as with depression, it is not a cure. If people are on a waiting list to receive talking therapy for anxiety, doing some form of movement, particularly running, can be something to help in the meantime.
Although we’ve reached a point where it seems obvious that exercising does benefit mental health, we’re still not entirely sure why there are benefits. It’s likely to be a complex interaction of psychological and neurobiological mechanisms that work together to mediate the link between exercise and depression or anxiety disorders. The majority of the protective effects of exercise against depression occur within the first hour of exercise undertaken each week, which provides some clues. Some suggestions have been put forward, such as increased social support, a sense of mastery, independence, achievement and distraction. These are mainly psychological, and in addition there are suggested biological pathways such as the role of serotonin, changes in the hypothalamic adrenocortical system, which is involved in the stress response, and endorphins.
When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins, which interact with receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. Endorphins get their name from morphine, as they are endogenous morphine-like substances (endo – orphins) that produce pain relief. After around twenty to thirty minutes of moderately hard exercise, endorphins are released into your body and will result in a mood and energy boost for two to three hours, and a mild buzz for up to twenty-four hours. This is what’s generally known as ‘runner’s high’.
Other explanations for any association between exercise and depression and anxiety focus on the fact that exercise results in improved physical health, as well as affecting self-esteem.
Self-esteem and exercise is an interesting kettle of fish. While it may seem like there should be a really obvious link – namely that exercise increases self-esteem – that doesn’t seem to be the case. The research is really mixed, with around 60 per cent of studies showing a positive link,131 suggesting that exercise does help for some groups of people, whereas for others it makes no difference. The lack of a general trend indicates that there is no one simple explanation for the link between exercise and self-esteem, but rather that there are several. For example, for those with disabilities the effects of exercise are often overwhelmingly positive, likely due to the autonomy and personal control this gives. There may also be that sense of belonging to a group, which can help relieve loneliness and improve self-esteem. Exercise also seems to be incredibly beneficial for those in larger bodies, as often the stigma and microaggressions associated with this mean that self-esteem is very low to begin with, so there is more scope for subtle but significant improvement. Also, those who are sedentary are more likely to experience positive changes in self-esteem, as they are more likely to see changes in physical fitness, which can make it seem like the exercise is ‘working’, i.e. leading to body changes.
Even for those without depression or anxiety, there are considerable benefits of exercise for stress management. Just around twenty minutes of movement per day is enough to have stress-relieving effects, and that includes things like walking or gardening.132 For me, for example, that’s equivalent to walking to the nearest train station and back again.
Factors that I’ve already mentioned, like endorphins and the social aspect of exercise, definitely seem to contribute to this. In addition, stress can result in holding tension in particular areas of the body such as the shoulders, and exercise can help with this by forcing those muscles to tense and relax. Many forms of exercise also require a level of concentration, whether that’s focusing on breathing in yoga, or playing a game of tennis, which distracts the mind away from sources of stress and frustration.
Something about being in nature is especially calming for us humans. Brain scans have shown that simply looking at photos of natural scenes can have a calming effect. Walking outside in nature (as opposed to along a busy road) lowers levels of cortisol – the stress hormone – and seems to encourage us to slow down our breathing rate. Out of the people who say stress management is their primary motivation for exercise, most prefer running, walking or yoga, and two out of three of those usually take place outdoors.
Interestingly, people’s motivations for movement seem to differ based on the type. Motivation for playing a sport seems to be more inward, such as enjoyment and a challenge, whereas the motivation for engaging in exercise is more outward, with a focus on weight loss and appearance.133
This is worrying for two main reasons. First, we have already established that weight loss is an unattainable and unrealistic goal for the vast majority. When it comes to exercise in particular, the increased movement and energy expenditure usually results in a biological drive to increase hunger and therefore eat more, which would negate any kind of calorie deficit that would lead to weight loss. This isn’t ‘lack of willpower’, this is fighting biology, and so understandably it’s fighting a losing battle. So, when embarking on an exercise regime doesn’t lead to weight loss (due to biology), people are likely to become disheartened and give up, despite the fact that exercise has a whole host of amazing benefits beyond weight loss, which I’ve just spent several pages outlining. They miss out on all these amazing benefits, simply because society tells us that weight matters above all else.
Second, focusing on appearance and aesthetics, and in particular focusing on obtaining the thin or lean ideal, has led to an increase in body-image disturbance in individuals across the gender spectrum. Negative body image is a key part of (and a predictor of) a variety of health issues such as depression, eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).
The most popular theory, and the one with the most support and evidence, which explains how body-image disturbance comes to be and how it’s maintained, is sociocultural theory. This theory states that social pressures (such as from the media, friends and family) are a trigger for people to conform to the thin or lean ideal. For the vast majority of people, this ideal is difficult or even impossible to achieve, even with regular exercise, so it’s not surprising that improving body image and obtaining this ideal is a strong motivator for doing some form of exercise.
People who do some kind of exercise generally have better body image than people who don’t. But why? This is where it gets really interesting. Those who exercise seem to be more likely to be close to societal ideals of body shape, and therefore may have more external influences that validate their body. For men, doing mainly weight training has the most effect, whereas for women it’s a mixture of cardio and weights. Both of these lead to the same goal: reaching the ideal. Doing weights builds the muscle for the lean, muscular ideal for men; and doing cardio and weights allows women to reach the thin ideal (not too many muscles, God forbid). It may also be because exercise is associated with a whole host of psychological benefits. We can’t be sure, and it likely differs from person to person. But what we do know is that exercising directly causes better body image for many people, which is amazing.134 This effect doesn’t apply as much to older adults, though, particularly over age fifty-five, which is likely down to loss of function and reduced ability to move in the same way as when they were younger, rather than due to appearance, although it’s possible that society’s definition of beauty being young and wrinkle-free may be contributing as well. Of course, this is totally understandable. If you feel like your body isn’t working as well as you want it to, and at the same time you’re bombarded with images of youthful beauty, how would that not make you feel worse about your own body?
It’s clear that there are mental health benefits associated with exercise, but that’s definitely not always the case. As always, it’s a little more nuanced than that. For some people, exercise ends up making them feel worse, and this is down to the ideas and perceptions we have about exercise.
The reason that someone exercises or moves their body is what dictates the relationship between body and self-esteem and disordered eating. In particular, exercising in order to lose weight or to appear more attractive (by being closer to the thin ideal) is why some women become more dissatisfied with their body when they exercise, regardless of any physical and psychological benefits. This is likely because exercise doesn’t change your body overnight; it takes time, it’s slow, it’s painful and it’s challenging. It’s demotivating when this hard work doesn’t produce a quick reward and doesn’t quickly bring someone closer to the thin ideal, as we’re led to believe it’s us and our body that’s the problem. When the motivation is weight and aesthetics, the result is worse body image, whereas when the motivation is health, particularly mental health, the result is better body image.
One interesting way in which we can understand this relationship between body image and motivation to exercise is ‘objectification theory’. This theory is based on the idea that within our culture women are constantly looked at, assessed and objectified. What is deemed to be feminine and attractive is what gains the approval of the male gaze – a focus on the body as an object to be admired. This regular objectification can lead to a process called self-objectification, whereby women internalise these ideas and outsiders’ perspectives, which results in placing high value on aesthetics and appearance. Naturally, this needs constant monitoring and produces high anxiety about the body, which is why it leads to body dissatisfaction, body shame, lower self-esteem, disordered eating and depression.
For many people, when they embark on an exercise programme or they want to spend an hour moving their body, they’ll go to a gym or studio of some sort. This kind of fitness environment provides an ideal atmosphere for self-objectification, as there are mirrors all around, there are posters showing thin women doing exercises, ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures emphasising weight loss, classes with names like ‘ultimate fat burn’, and plenty of other women’s bodies in tight-fitting Lycra to compare themselves with. All highly objectifying.
There is such a clear divide between the messages in gyms directed at men compared with women. For women, weight-loss programmes are advertised by focusing on slimness and thinness, using words such as ‘Slimacise’, whereas for men it’s much more aggressive: ‘Axe Fat’, or ‘Project Hench’ for those looking to build muscle. For women, there is no focus on muscle gain; instead it’s all about ‘shaping’ and ‘toning’ the body, moulding it as if it were an inanimate object that needs fixing.
Within that kind of environment there are several difference types of fitness activity to choose from. There are individual workouts where you can choose cardio or weights, and there are group fitness classes such as aerobics, weights-based classes and yoga. Different workouts seem to have different effects on body image. In general, cardio workouts place an emphasis on burning fat and burning calories, and so tend to be quite weight-loss-focused, rather than emphasising the benefits of improved cardiovascular fitness. So, many women who do cardio-based exercises or classes do so to lose weight, which usually leads to greater body dissatisfaction, because the focus is purely on aesthetics. Weights-based workouts, on the other hand, don’t have that same emphasis, but instead focus on functional strength and fitness, which doesn’t lead to greater body image concerns. Yoga-based exercise has a different focus again, emphasising the mind–body connection, increasing body awareness, and breath work. The lack of emphasis on aesthetics is protective against self-objectification and leads to better body image.135
It is interesting to note that participating in cardio-based group fitness classes is associated with exercising more for enjoyment and mood improvement, whereas this isn’t the case for individual cardio workouts. Group classes have a reputation for being more enjoyable and social occasions, and research has shown that in general women prefer to exercise in group settings rather than alone (although of course everyone is different). Combine that with the upbeat music and motivational instructors and it’s no wonder many people see these classes as being more fun.
What this practically means is that gyms and fitness studios need to focus on functional reasons for exercise, such as health, fitness, enjoyment and better mood, rather than focusing on appearance-related reasons such as weight loss. That would go a long way towards improving women’s body image. But of course they won’t do that. Focusing on aesthetics and weight loss is what brings in lots of new customers and members, and fitness studios thrive on unrealistic societal beauty standards, as it keeps people coming back. What may be a more realistic goal is suggesting that gyms create a more positive environment in gyms, by reducing the number of mirrors, removing objectifying and unrealistic posters of women’s bodies, employing staff with diverse body shapes and sizes, and instructing staff to focus on promoting benefits and motivations for exercise that aren’t appearance-focused. Anything but shouting about how many calories someone is burning during a class.
Body dissatisfaction isn’t something that’s unique to women, as has been thought in the past. Men are just as likely to be dissatisfied with their bodies, but in a different way. Most women are keen to reduce their body weight, whereas men are split pretty evenly down the middle, with half wanting to lose weight and half wanting to gain weight, but always with the intention of achieving the ideal body shape.136 This body dissatisfaction is linked with pursuing exercise for aesthetic goals, which only seems to further negative body image, as the ideal body shape is unattainable for most people.
Ideally, we need to totally shift the argument about exercise away from aesthetics, to improve body image. Another reason this is important is the risk of overexercise.
OverexerciseIn the 1970s the concept of ‘positive addiction’ was introduced, using exercise as an example. It was thought that whereas with substance abuse and other addictions there was a negative relationship whereby taking more would consistently decrease health, with exercise it seemed that the more you took, the better your health. I’m sure you can already see the problem with this, and these ideas were soon challenged by other psychologists, who had seen patients who exercised to the point of persistent physical injury and to the detriment of their family and social lives. They were spending so much time exercising they had no energy for their families.
Just as with other forms of addiction, excessive exercise behaviour becomes problematic when someone experiences withdrawal symptoms if they are unable to exercise for more than a day or two, experiences feelings of guilt and anxiety if a workout is missed combined with reduced anxiety immediately after a workout, and when the level of exercise interferes with other activities, such as sleep or social life, in a detrimental way. This can also include exercising despite medical advice not to, for example due to injury.137 This hopefully clears up any confusion between commitment to exercise and actual overexercise or exercise addiction. Someone who is simply committed to improving their mental health or running a marathon for charity shouldn’t be experiencing high levels of anxiety and letting it take over their lives. It should simply mesh in with other aspects of life, and become part of a routine, rather than overwhelming.
Personally, I prefer the term ‘overexercise’ as it’s less scary and stigmatising than the word ‘addiction’, and that way I can also include those who exercise too much but who would still be considered subclinical. Using the word ‘addiction’ can feel like over-medicalising the problem and put people off potentially changing their behaviour to something more moderate and positive, as they don’t see themselves as being addicted.
Overexercise can be a problem unique in itself, or it can be a secondary outcome of another issue, such as an eating disorder. The former – primary exercise addiction – typically involves avoiding a negative outcome such as stress or anxiety, whereas the latter generally involves using exercise as a means to lose weight. The main difference between the two is that in primary exercise addiction, the exercise is the objective, whereas in secondary exercise addiction, weight loss is the objective, with overexercise being one of the key ways to achieve that goal.
The two may have different causes, but the symptoms presented are usually the same, or very similar. Most of the time, overexercising comes together with some form of disordered eating behaviour.
In the UK, it has been suggested that around 3 per cent of people are at risk of overexercise.138 This may not sound like much, but actually adds up to a significant number of people. To put that into context, anorexia nervosa is suggested to affect around 1 per cent of the population.
There are several explanations as to why overexercise develops, but in reality it’s likely an overlap of many factors. First, there is the endorphin hypothesis, which suggests that ‘runner’s high’ and that feeling of euphoria can encourage addictive behaviour. Second, there is the suggestion that because your body temperature increases when you exercise it helps you relax, and this reduces anxiety in an ever more addicting way. A less purely biological explanation is that exercise becomes a mechanism to cope with stress to the point where someone can become dependent on it as their only stress reliever.
Someone who is exercising in a healthy way is generally motivated by positive reinforcement – the reward of exercise, whether it’s physical, mental or social, is what they are seeking. Someone overexercising in an unhealthy way has this too, but with an additional component of negative reinforcement – they’re trying to avoid the unpleasant feelings of guilt and anxiety that make up the withdrawal symptoms of missing a workout or two. So rather than simply wanting to exercise, there’s a feeling of ‘I have to exercise.’
For some people, that negative reinforcement is driven by body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), which could be either quite mild or very severe. Individuals with BDD have a distorted body image and a preoccupation with perceived defects with the body, and any existing imperfections are seen as being far greater than they actually are. These imperfections can be things like scars, blemishes or a lack of symmetry – things that someone else might not even notice. BDD can present itself in the form of a variety of negative behaviours, from time-consuming rituals such as constantly checking appearance in the mirror, to social isolation, overexercise and higher risk of depression. Muscle dysmorphia is a version of BDD that specifically focuses on a perception that a person isn’t muscular enough, that they’re too small. It is this group that is most likely to overexercise – particularly excessive weight-lifting, which can damage joints and muscles – as well as abuse diuretics and steroids to achieve a more muscular look.139 Muscle dysmorphia is absolutely driven by societal body ideals, as the more someone internalises this ideal, the more likely they are to pursue muscularity as an important goal.140 But there is also a worry about how other people perceive your body, and whether it’s seen as good enough, which is known as social physique anxiety.
The difficulty with overexercise or exercise addiction is that many people don’t see it as a problem. It is likely that exercise is viewed by society as being kind of a necessity for healthy living, and as such it is viewed positively by both society and individuals. Exercising many hours a day is seen as being more ‘normal’ and socially acceptable than spending many hours a day playing video games, especially in the eyes of parents.
Of course, everyone who exercises is on a spectrum, ranging from a healthy relationship with exercise to a full exercise addiction, and where you draw the cut-off line between clinical and ‘normal’ is tricky, especially as fitness and exercising is seen as a positive thing, and is encouraged by family and friends, even when it is obsessive and unhealthy.
Yes, exercise is highly beneficial to both mental and physical health, but it’s not simply a case of ‘the more the better’. Exercise and movement shouldn’t take over your life, nor should people be made to feel guilty if there are factors preventing them from exercising, such as disability or finance. The amazing benefits of exercise should be presented to us with a warning that losing control and overdoing it can potentially be as dangerous as misusing any other behaviour or substance. The body needs to recover after exercise through carefully planned rest periods, which are just as important as the workout itself. As always, moderation is key.
The positives of fitspoI think it’s important to acknowledge that fitspo isn’t all bad. For some people, having a visual diary to post their fitness content keeps them motivated to pursue their goals in a healthy way. For others, viewing fitspo content genuinely does motivate them in a positive way, rather than due to negative social comparisons and feeling not good enough.
Young girls in particular have a complicated relationship with exercise. Girls generally are less active than boys, and the amount of activity they do as they get older declines faster than for boys. Part of this is down to the fact that for girls, especially adolescent girls, physical activity is affected by gender norms.141 There is pressure from society and from peers to appear and act feminine, and if they do too much exercise or the ‘wrong’ types of exercise (for example, rugby) they’re seen as overly masculine. In general, the qualities encouraged in sports, such as competitiveness and strength, are at odds with stereotypical feminine ideals. Even for the girls who want to appear strong and capable, there is pressure to counterbalance these qualities to avoid being perceived as muscular or aggressive. Girls’ relationship with exercise requires complex negotiations of gender roles, so it’s not surprising that activity rates decline as they get older. That’s where fitspo comes in, as people who post fitspo content are regularly ‘normal’ people (i.e. not celebrities or personal trainers) who advocate strength. These people can be positive role models for girls and young adults, and motivate them to keep being active by reassuring them that exercise doesn’t negate their femininity. It goes at least some small way towards fighting extreme gender stereotypes, which is only a good thing.
ConclusionThe fitspo movement on Instagram, while seemingly having good intentions, may actually be causing more harm than good to a considerable part of the population by promoting one ideal image for what a ‘fit and healthy’ person looks like, and ultimately discourages people to exercise. Because of the image-focused nature of fitspo, it also (inadvertently or deliberately) encourages exercise for aesthetic and appearance purposes, which we know are linked to negative body image and disordered eating. There are so many great benefits to exercise, from blood cholesterol levels and feeling stronger and more able to improved mental health, stress management and the social aspect. Focusing on these positive outcomes generally means better self-esteem and body image, and therefore a lower risk of disordered eating and eating disorders. Focusing on aesthetics and making it about appearance likely means those mental health benefits don’t happen. I want to encourage people to step away from seeing exercise as a means to manage weight, and instead think more like the ‘This Girl Can’ campaign, which aims to celebrate women’s participation in sport regardless of physical appearance.
Around 50 per cent of adults who start an exercise programme drop out within the first six to twelve months, which shows how important it is to choose a form of movement that is enjoyable and sustainable. There’s also no harm in trying something out, realising it’s not suited, and trying something else instead.
Yes, in general people need to be encouraged to move their bodies and not be too sedentary, where possible. But it’s not as simple as just ‘move more’. To get all the amazingly positive benefits of exercise we need to focus away from weight loss, away from aesthetics, and recognise individuals at risk of overdoing it.
Please scale each of the following items.
STRONGLY DISAGREE |
SLIGHTLY DISAGREE |
NEITHER AGREE NOR DISAGREE |
SLIGHTLY AGREE |
STRONGLY AGREE |
|
Exercise is the most important thing in my life. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Conflicts have arisen between me and my family and/or my partner about the amount of exercise I do. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
I use exercise as my main way of changing my mood. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
I prioritise exercise over my work and social life. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
If I have to miss an exercise session I feel moody and irritable. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
If I cut down on the amount of exercise I do, and then start again, I always end up exercising as often as I did before. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
The total score is categorised into ‘asymptomatic’ (scores 0–12), ‘symptomatic’ (13–23) and ‘at risk’ of exercise addiction (24 or greater).
This is not intended to diagnose but merely to highlight individuals who may be at risk so they can be aware and perhaps assess their behaviour and motivations for exercise.
Please indicate whether each statement is true about you.
NEVER |
SELDOM |
SOMETIMES |
OFTEN |
ALWAYS |
|
I respect my body. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
I feel good about my body. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
I feel that my body has at least some good qualities. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
I take a positive attitude towards my body. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
I am attentive to my body’s needs. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
I feel love for my body. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
I appreciate the different and unique characteristics of my body. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
My behaviour reveals my positive attitude towards my body. For example, I hold my head high and smile. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
I am comfortable in my body. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
I feel like I am beautiful even if I am different from media images of attractive people (e.g. models/actors). |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
The higher your score, the greater an appreciation you have for your body. Add up your score and divide it by 10 to find your average. This isn’t a diagnostic tool, more a guidance to see where you’re at with your body image right now. The aim is to get your score higher, to averaging above 3, and if possible above 4.