Relationship among sex, imagery, and exercise dependence symptoms

There is limited research examining the physical (e.g., sex) and psychological correlates (e.g., imagery) of exercise dependence despite its harmful effects. The purposes of this study were to examine sex differences and the predictive ability of exercise imagery for exercise dependence symptoms. Participants were 408 university students who completed measures of exercise imagery, exercise behavior, and exercise dependence. The results indicated that men reported more exercise dependence symptoms than women. For the women, exercise behavior, appearance imagery, and energy imagery were positive predictors of exercise dependence symptoms. In contrast, for the men, exercise behavior and energy imagery positively predicted exercise dependence symptoms. Consistent with suggestions by C. Hall (1995), exercise imagery may be related to exercise dependence symptoms.