Passion and Addiction in Sports and Exercise

Passion and Addiction in Sports and Exercise is about the bright and dark aspects of sports and exercise behavior and revolves around two closely related yet distinct concepts. Passion is a joyful and healthy reflection of one's enjoyment and dedication to an adopted sport or exercise. At the same time, exercise addiction is an obligatory and must-be-done training regimen. This book is the first to attempt to explain the significant differences between passion and addiction in sports and exercise, as well as the relationship between the two. This book presents an overview of three dimensions of passion and offers a new frame to contextualize exercise addition. The work also addresses the misinterpretation of certain aspects of training (e.g., intensity, frequency, and commitment) often related to the risk of exercise addiction. After introducing the health benefits of exercise, the book looks at the passion for sports and exercise training and the transition into maladaptive practice. Then it presents definitions and theoretical models for exercise addiction. It then examines exercise addiction cases while also illustrating how excessive or high exercise volumes could be beneficial instead of problematic. The last chapter offers a new approach for a better understanding of exercise addiction. Passion and Addiction in Sports and Exercise is helpful for students, researchers, and clinicians interested in sport and exercise psychology, athletic training, behavioral addictions, and physical education. As well as being valuable reading for all regular exercisers and physically active individuals, including athletes competing at various levels in different sport disciplines.

Attila Szabo, PhD, DSc, is Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Professor of Psychology at ELTE Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate education at Concordia University (BSc in Psycholoy and MSc in Biology) and University of Montreal (PhD in 'Sciences de l'activité physique'), in Montreal, Canada. He served the sport science teaching and research teams at Nottingham Trent University, first as Senior Lecturer then as Reader for nearly nine years. His research interest is in behavioral addictions and placebo effects in sports and exercise. Zsolt Demetrovics, PhD, DSc, is Clinical Psychologist and Cultural Anthropologist. Until 2021, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Psychology, and Director of the Institute of Psychology, as well as Head of the Department of Clinical Psychology & Addiction at the ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. Currently, Zsolt is Chair of Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming at the University of Gibraltar. He is former president of the Hungarian Association on Addictions and funding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Behavioral Addictions. Furthermore, Zsolt is the president of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Addictions. He is board member of the International Collaboration on ADHD and Substance Abuse (ICASA), and the European Association of Substance Abuse Research (EASAR).

1. Sports and Exercise for Healthy Living 2. Passion: Definitions and Conceptualization 3. Passion in Athletes and Leisure Exercisers 4. Runner's High: A Path from Healthy to Dysfunctional Exercise? 5. Behavioral Addictions: Overview and Classifications 6. Uncovering Exercise Addiction: A Historical Perspective 7. Commitment Versus Addiction in Sports and Exercise 8. Psychological Manifestations of Exercise Deprivation 9. Exercise Addiction: Definition and Conceptualization 10. Primary and Secondary Forms of Exercise Dependence 11. Psychophysiological Models for Exercise Addiction 12. Psychometric Assessment of Exercise Addiction 13. Undiagnosed but Real Cases of Exercise Addiction 14. Is Exercise Addiction a Symptom or a Disorder? 15. Treatment of Exercise Addiction 16. Untangling Passion from Exercise Addiction: Shaping the Knowledge 17. Novel Conceptualization of Passion and Addiction is Sport and Exercise