Introduction: Persons with eating disorders often exercise in a driven manner. Traditionally conceptualized
as a means for increasing energy expenditure to influence body weight and shape or
to regulate negative emotions, recent research indicates that experiencing positive
affect after exercising and achieving a state of satisfaction may be an important
positive reinforcer of driven exercise.
Methods: Thirty-three women without eating disorders, 33 female athletes without eating disorders,
and 24 women with eating disorders who reported engaging in driven exercise participated
in this laboratory study, during which they either cycled 30 min (prescribed condition)
or cycled as long as they wished for up to 45 min (self-paced condition) at approximately
70% age-adjusted maximum heart rate while ratings on reward satiation were collected.
Results: Women with eating disorders showed an attenuated increase in reward satiation compared
to the other two groups in both conditions. They also decided to cycle longer than
the women without eating disorders (but similar to the athletes) in the self-paced
condition.
Conclusion: This is the first study that examined driven exercise with a laboratory paradigm
from a reward-related perspective. Findings suggest that a reduced reward response
may contribute to maintain driven exercise in persons with eating disorders.
