An international team of researchers from Australia, Hungary, and the U.K. recently published a review of the scientific literature on exercise addiction in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions. The existence of exercise addiction provides strong evidence for a Unified Theory of Addiction, which posits that all addictions, behavioral or substance use, are the result of the displacement of stress.

To say the review is exhaustive would be an understatement. The team of psychiatric researchers considered 758 papers on exercise addiction from Google Scholar and another 130 from PubMed.

The first problem they ran into is the lack of diagnostic criteria for what constitutes exercise addiction (EA). The disorder is not recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) or by the World Health Organization (WHO). Many terms are used for the same condition, such as compulsive exercise, excessive exercise, and problematic exercise.

The diagnosis of exercise addiction is also complicated by the fact that “most evidence points to EA being symptomatic of another disorder.” What other disorder? Any other disorder, apparently, that involves using behavior or substances to relieve stress.

Let’s look at some of the research surfaced in this review that appears to corroborate the Unified Theory of Addiction:

• EA is “characterized by compulsive engagement in non-substance-related behaviors that are perceived as relieving.”

• “This behavioral pattern often results in clinically significant psychological distress or functional impairment.”

• “It progressively assumes priority in the individual’s daily life and continues despite serious negative consequences across multiple life domains.”

• “Diminished self-control despite awareness of harmful consequences.”

Cognitive impairments associated with EA include “poor decision-making, cue-reactivity, deficits in executive functioning, and reduced inhibitory control.” EA is “marked by loss of behavioral control, increased priority (salience), mood regulation, withdrawal effects, tolerance, intrapersonal or interpersonal conflicts, and relapse.”

It’s interesting how they distinguish exercise addiction from a passion for exercise, or from another addiction. In “primary exercise addiction,” the exercise itself is the problem, for example, “as an escape response from stress.” In “secondary exercise addiction,” the exercise is an attempt to lose weight due to a different disorder, such as body dysmorphia.

Exercise addiction is common among people with eating disorders. When do eating disorders contribute most to exercise addiction? “Particularly in the presence of any psychological distress and emotion dysregulation.” Again, we see the use of exercise to relieve chronic stress as an essential ingredient of EA.

The researchers examine four psychological models that attempt to explain EA. They are:

The Cognitive Appraisal Hypothesis: “EA arises when a habitual exerciser begins to ‘depend’ on exercise for stress management after previously experiencing its stress-relief benefits.” If that is not the definition of displacement, I don’t know what is.

The Four-Phase Model: Describes the progression from recreational exercise to at-risk exercise, to problematic exercise, and finally to exercise addiction.

Interactional Model: Life experiences lead individuals to “use exercise or other methods to cope with stress.” The devotion to exercise can be “healthy and therapeutic” or “linked to coping with hardships” such as a “traumatic life event.” Again, displacement.

The PACE Model: Like the Unified Theory of Addiction, the PACE model is “a general model for addictions in general.” PACE starts with Pragmatics: “coping with overwhelming life stressors using available means, such as exercise.” Again, displacement.

The Passion Model: Examines exercise addiction as an uncontrollable extension of the love of exercising.

In addition to these models, the researchers examined more than 30 different assessment tools used to diagnose EA. One of their main recommendations is for greater consolidation and uniformity in the description and assessment of EA. They believe that “greater clinical awareness is vital for early detection and prevention.”

We are repeatedly seeing a model that explains the dividing line between passion and addiction. When the behavior or substance is used repeatedly to relieve traumatic stress, it corrupts an individual’s stress management system in a way that leads to dependency and addiction.

That tendency to use behaviors and substances to displace chronic or traumatic stress is partly genetic and can be passed along by parents who managed their own stress poorly. However, the genetic component does not seem to fire in the absence of traumatic stress.

This is again verification of the Unified Theory of Addiction, which explains both behavioral and substance abuse addictions, from genetics to environmental factors to diagnosis and treatment.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published July 31, 2026.

Sources:

“Exercise addiction: A review and evaluation of current research and theory,” Journal of Behavioral Addictions, July 15, 2026.

“Exercise addiction is real, but often overstated,” MedicalXpress, July 22, 2026.

“A Unified Theory of Addiction,” Quios, March 9, 2023.

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