Anorexia athletica information

Anorexia athletica (sports anorexia), also referred to as hyper-gymnasia, is an eating disorder characterized by excessive and compulsive exercise. An athlete with sports anorexia tends to overexercise to give themselves a sense of having control over their body. Most often, people with the disorder tend to feel they have no control over their lives other than their control of food and exercise. In actuality, they have no control; they cannot stop exercising or regulating food intake without feeling guilty.^[1] Generally, once the activity is started, it is difficult to stop because the person is seen as being addicted to the method adopted.

Anorexia athletica is used to refer to "a disorder for athletes who engage in at least one unhealthy method of weight control".^[2] Unlike anorexia nervosa, anorexia athletica does not have as much to do with body image as it does with performance. Athletes usually begin by eating more 'healthy' foods, as well as increasing their training, but when people feel like that is not enough and start working out excessively and cutting back their caloric intake until it becomes a psychological disorder.

Hypergymnasia and anorexia athletica are not recognized as mental disorders in medical manuals such as the ICD-11 or the DSM-5. There are limited studies on the exact prevalence of anorexia athletica., but it has been found to be more common among elite athletes than the general population^[3].