A long-standing health initiative has been the recommendation for individuals to engage in regular physical activity because of its numerous physical and mental health benefits. However, engaging in “excessive exercise” is a compensatory behavior found in eating disorders. The present study sought to better understand exercise as both a health- and risk-behavior. Undergraduates (N = 1010) completed an online survey assessing disordered eating and exercise behavior. Results revealed that among individuals who engaged in a low level of physical activity, exercising for socializing reasons conferred risk for disordered eating, whereas higher socializing exercise motives were associated with lower disordered eating behavior. Findings suggest that it may be particularly useful to know how often individuals engage in exercise when they have high socializing motives. Future research should examine the Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale (EBBS) to investigate individuals’ simultaneous reasons for engaging in exercise and barriers to participating in exercise.
","abstract_html":"<p>A long-standing health initiative has been the recommendation for individuals to engage in regular physical activity because of its numerous physical and mental health benefits. However, engaging in “excessive exercise” is a compensatory behavior found in eating disorders. The present study sought to better understand exercise as both a health- and risk-behavior. Undergraduates (<em>N</em> = 1010) completed an online survey assessing disordered eating and exercise behavior. Results revealed that among individuals who engaged in a low level of physical activity, exercising for socializing reasons conferred risk for disordered eating, whereas higher socializing exercise motives were associated with lower disordered eating behavior. Findings suggest that it may be particularly useful to know how often individuals engage in exercise when they have high socializing motives. Future research should examine the Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale (EBBS) to investigate individuals’ simultaneous reasons for engaging in exercise and barriers to participating in exercise.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Pejsa-Reitz, Megan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Karen Saules, Ph.D., Chair","Ellen Koch, Ph.D.","Tamara Loverich, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z","subjects":["Clinical Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/912","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Karen Saules, Ph.D., Chair","Ellen Koch, Ph.D.","Tamara Loverich, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Pejsa-Reitz, Megan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-08-23T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/912"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A long-standing health initiative has been the recommendation for individuals to engage in regular physical activity because of its numerous physical and mental health benefits. However, engaging in “excessive exercise” is a compensatory behavior found in eating disorders. The present study sought to better understand exercise as both a health- and risk-behavior. Undergraduates (N = 1010) completed an online survey assessing disordered eating and exercise behavior. Results revealed that among individuals who engaged in a low level of physical activity, exercising for socializing reasons conferred risk for disordered eating, whereas higher socializing exercise motives were associated with lower disordered eating behavior. Findings suggest that it may be particularly useful to know how often individuals engage in exercise when they have high socializing motives. Future research should examine the Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale (EBBS) to investigate individuals’ simultaneous reasons for engaging in exercise and barriers to participating in exercise.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An exploration of the aspects of physical activity and exercise motives that confer risk versus protection from disordered eating outcomes"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Karen Saules, Ph.D., Chair","Ellen Koch, Ph.D.","Tamara Loverich, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Pejsa-Reitz, Megan"],"dc:date.available":["2018-08-23T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["A long-standing health initiative has been the recommendation for individuals to engage in regular physical activity because of its numerous physical and mental health benefits. However, engaging in “excessive exercise” is a compensatory behavior found in eating disorders. The present study sought to better understand exercise as both a health- and risk-behavior. Undergraduates (N = 1010) completed an online survey assessing disordered eating and exercise behavior. Results revealed that among individuals who engaged in a low level of physical activity, exercising for socializing reasons conferred risk for disordered eating, whereas higher socializing exercise motives were associated with lower disordered eating behavior. Findings suggest that it may be particularly useful to know how often individuals engage in exercise when they have high socializing motives. Future research should examine the Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale (EBBS) to investigate individuals’ simultaneous reasons for engaging in exercise and barriers to participating in exercise.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/912"],"dc:subject":["Clinical Psychology"],"dc:title":["An exploration of the aspects of physical activity and exercise motives that confer risk versus protection from disordered eating outcomes"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z"}