Can You Be Too Fit? Women with Anorexia Athletica Take Fitness Too Far

By Dana Shultz for DietsInReview.com

You've heard of anorexia, an eating disorder that leads a person to refuse to eat out of fear of gaining weight.

But have you heard of Anorexia Athletica? It's another type of eating disorder that refers to an athlete or individual who exercises so often that it begins to interfere with their family life, job, relationships, and other important areas of life.

Sufferers not only work out too often, but too much. They go well beyond the basic requirements for good health, spending long periods of time exercising, allowing it to become an obsessive activity that they have to do in order to feel in control. This often stems from an inaccurate perception of one's body and weight, and/or fear of gaining weight.

Self worth is also tied to how well they perform physically, and emphasis usually rests on how lean the body is. Typical sufferers are athletes that have to maintain a small physical frame in order to perform well in their sport.

While there is no one single cause of the condition, one perpetrator might be heightened pressure from parents or coaches to perform at a certain level, which eventually leads to unhealthy, obsessive behaviors. Another may be if family members have also had the disorder, meaning it may be genetic or associative.

While some view Anorexia Athletica as a less extreme eating disorder, in reality it can consume a person's life and even potentially result in fatal cardiac problems and even depression. For this reason it should be given the same attention and concern as other health-related disorders.

Symptoms of Anorexia Athletica often include:

> Over-exercising
> Heightened awareness of fat, calories and weight to the point of obsession
> Feelings of anxiety or guilt when workouts are missed
> A focus on 'purging calories' through exercise
> Self worth being determined by how well they perform physically
> A lack of enjoyment and pleasure from exercise

In extreme cases with women, another symptom may also be the 'female athlete triad' - a term that refers to three specific health-related problems commonly found in elite female athletes, which are lack of energy, menstrual irregularities and bone loss or osteoporosis.

How should Anorexia Athletica be treated?

The National Eating Disorder Information Center advises the first step to treating this condition is for the sufferer to recognize their eating and exercise habits are harmful. The next step is to consult a doctor knowledgeable of eating disorders, and to follow up with a dietitian and personal trainer in order to learn what a healthy balance between exercise and caloric intake looks like.

In addition to these measures, DietsInReview.com's Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Brooke Randolph, suggests that since it is part of a larger disorder, and eating disorders are often about more than food or body image, treatment should require addressing those deep-seated issues with a specialist. And that although it can be temping to simply tell a patient to set a limit on gym time, doing so will likely exacerbate the problem.

How often should we work out to maintain a healthy relationship with exercise?

While there's no hard and fast rule on how much we should exercise, the length and frequency of a person's workouts should be determined by their current health status and what type of lifestyle they hope to maintain. In general, however, aiming to be active at least 3-4 days a week for somewhere around 30 minutes to one hour is a good goal.

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