2009 vol. 33 no. 5 AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 495© 2009 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2009 Public Health Association of Australia

doi: 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2009.00437.x

The substance use profiles of a sample of obligatory and non-obligatory exercisersMatthew Dunn

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), University of New South Wales

There is a growing body of literature that suggests participating

in physical activity has beneficial physical and psychological

effects.1 Mixed findings have been found regarding the association

between physical activity and substance use. For example, physical

activity has been associated with increased levels of alcohol use but

lower rates of tobacco use among college students2 but adolescents

may be placed at a higher risk of substance use depending on the

sport in which they participate.3

Overall, the relationship between physical activity and substance

use may be influenced by such factors as gender, age, the substance

under investigation, the nature of physical activity and the level of

intensity of the activity performed.4 The aim of this study was to

investigate whether there exists an association between obligatory

exercise (defined as a compulsive behaviour pattern in which

exercise dominates daily life at the expense of other activities)

and substance use by examining any differences in the substance

use profiles of obligatory and non-obligatory exercisers.

Men recruited from five gymnasiums in Sydney, Australia, were

invited to complete an Internet-based survey between January and

June 2005. Participants were asked to complete a brief survey

asking about the past six month use of illicit substances (including

cannabis, amphetamines, cocaine, inhalants, hallucinogens and

sedatives/hypnotics); supplements/conditioning aids (including

vitamins, protein supplements, creatine, caffeine, amino acids,

diet pill and diuretics); and feelings of obligation to exercise as

measured by the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ).5 The

OEQ is a 20 item questionnaire scored on a Likert scale ranging

from 1=never to 4=always. A score of 50 or greater is an indicator

for exercise dependence.

A total of 229 surveys were completed; using strict data screening

measures, 67 were excluded for reasons such as identifying as

female, where no gender was specified, living outside of Sydney

or where incomplete data was obtained on the OEQ. Due to ethical

restraints, no individually identifiable information was collected as

part of the survey. The IP address from the computer submitting

information to the server hosting the survey, by normal course of

operation, was collected, though this was not collected in the dataset

with the survey responses and therefore could not be linked back

to individual responses. The study was approved by the University

of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee.

The obligatory (n=31) and non-obligatory (n=131) exercisers were

similar in age (mean age 30 years vs. 31 years; t158

=0.573; p=0.568).

The obligatory exercisers were more likely to identify as heterosexual

(54.8% vs. 29.5%; OR=2.9; 95%CI=1.3, 6.5; p=0.008). There were

differences between the two groups regarding the past six month use of

supplements/conditions aids. Obligatory exercisers were significantly

more likely to report the past-six month use of protein supplements

(83.9% vs. 48.8%; OR=5.4; 95%CI=2.0, 15.1; p<0.001), vitamins

(83.9% vs. 62.0%; OR=3.2; 95%CI=1.1, 8.8; p=0.021), creatine

(45.2% vs. 27.1%; OR=2.2; 95%CI=1.1, 5.0; p=0.045) and amino

acids (41.9% vs. 17.1%; OR=3.5; 95%CI=1.5, 8.2; p=0.003). Only

one difference was found regarding the use of illicit substances,

with obligatory exercisers less likely to report past six month use of

cannabis (16.1% vs. 37.2%; OR=0.3; 95%CI=0.1, 0.9; p=0.025).

Obligatory exercisers did not report greater use of illicit substances,

but were more likely to use a range of supplements/conditionings aids.

The study is unable to comment on the direction of this relationship

– does the use of these substances represent a marker for a greater

involvement in physical activity or does greater involvement in

physical activity facilitate the use of these substances? Given

that legal supplement use may remove barriers to using anabolic-

androgenic steroids,6 which are associated with a range of physical

and psychological harms, the relationship between physical activity

and sporting supplement use should be investigated further.

References1. Penedo FJ, Dahn JR. Exercise and well-being: a review of mental and physical

health benefits associated with physical activity. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2005;18(2):189-93.

2. Dunn MS, Wang MQ. Effects of physical activity on substance use among college students. American Journal of Health Studies. 2003;18:126-32.

3. Moore MJ, Werch CE. Sport and physical activity participation and substance use among adolescents. J Adolesc Health. 2005;36(6):486-93.

4. Peretti-Watel P, Beck F, Legleye S. Beyond the U-curve: the relationship between sport and alcohol, cigarette and cannabis in adolescents. Addiction. 2001;97:707-16.

5. Pasman L, Thompson J. Body image and eating disorders in obligatory runners, oglibatory weight lifers and sedentary individuals. Int J Eat Disord. 1988;7:759-69.

6. Dunn M, Mazanov J, Sitharthan G. Predicting future anabolic-androgenic steroid use intentions with current substance use: Findings from an Internet-based survey. Clin J Sport Med. 2009; 19(3): 222-227.

Correspondence: Dr Matthew Dunn, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052. Fax: (02) 9385 0222; e-mail: m.dunn@unsw.edu.au

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