When “Dedication” Becomes Dangerous

Movement is praised in our culture. Discipline is admired. Pushing through discomfort is celebrated. For many young people, especially athletes, this creates a dangerous illusion: A strong body can hide a strained nervous system. Research shows that disordered exercise is common and closely tied to eating disorders, anxiety, and depression.¹² It is not rare. It is not a phase. And it is often invisible until it becomes ingrained.

A 2025 study of over 7,500 adolescents found:

• 15.6% of competitive athletes were at risk for exercise addiction, compared to 6.4% of non-athletes¹

• Risk increased with age, training volume, and level of competition¹

• Individual-sport athletes were at higher risk than team-sport athletes¹

• Youth at risk reported more anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and eating disorder symptoms, even while reporting better physical health¹

• This is how it hides in plain sight.

What Disordered Exercise Looks Like at Home

Disordered exercise is not defined by how much your child moves. It is defined by how movement functions in their life.

Warning signs include:

• Panic or distress when rest is suggested.

• Training through illness or injury.

• Rigid routines that cannot flex.

• Food tied to movement (“earning” meals).

• Guilt after missing a workout.

• Withdrawal from relationships or joy.²

In athletes, these patterns are often mislabeled as dedication. In treatment, they are often overlooked. Yet excessive exercise predicts poorer outcomes and higher relapse rates.⁸ Movement must be addressed, not avoided.

Trauma changes how a person experiences their body.

Many young people learn that:

• Control equals safety.

• Stillness equals danger.

• Movement is the fastest way out of distress.

Gym and sport environments can unintentionally reinforce this. Mirrors, exposure, power dynamics, and body commentary can activate shame and hypervigilance.⁶⁷ For LGBTQ+ youth, larger-bodied youth, and marginalized youth, movement spaces often feel unsafe.⁷ At the same time, trauma-informed movement can be deeply healing. The difference is not whether movement is used. It is how.

What Actually Helps

Evidence-based frameworks such as Safe Exercise at Every Stage (SEES-2) and trauma-informed physical activity models show that:

• Blanket exercise bans increase secrecy and relapse risk.⁵

• Safety must be based on medical stability, not appearance.⁵

• Movement must be collaborative, not coercive.

• Choice restores agency.

• Attuned movement heals rather than harms.⁵⁶

• Recovery is not about removing movement. It is about changing its role.

What Coaches Need to Know (and What Parents Can Advocate For)

Over half of U.S. youth participate in organized sports. Prevention must begin before pathology takes root.⁴

Healthy sport cultures:

• Normalize rest as part of performance.

• Avoid body-based commentary.

• Eliminate punitive training models.

• Screen for mental health and food insecurity.³

• Train coaches in trauma-informed practices.⁴

Parents can ask:

• “How do you handle injury and rest?”

• “How do you talk about bodies?”

• “What mental health training do coaches receive?”

• “How do you respond when an athlete is struggling emotionally?”

  
  

Discipline and dysregulation can look identical. Performance does not equal wellbeing. Trauma-informed coach training significantly improves safety and awareness, protecting all athletes.⁴

Toward a Safer Culture of Movement

Your child’s relationship with movement is being shaped right now. By biology, yes. But also by systems, language, and expectations. Disordered exercise is not a failure. It is a learned adaptation. Healing does not come from more willpower. It comes from safety, attunement, and adults willing to shift the culture around them. The future of eating disorder care is not no movement. It is safe, collaborative movement through trauma-informed approaches that help young people come home to their bodies instead of escaping them.

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1. Mayolas-Pi, C., Sitko, S., Pano-Rodriguez, A., Lopez-Laval, I., Reverter-Masia, J., & Legaz-Arrese, A. (2025). Exercise addiction and psychosocial health risks among adolescent athletes. Journal of Behavioral Addictions.

2. Godoy-Izquierdo, D., Ramírez, M. J., Díaz, I., & López-Mora, C. (2023).Exercise addiction and the disordered eating continuum in sport. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.

3. Power, K., & Power, M. D. (2024). Disordered eating and compulsive exercise in collegiate athletes. Journal of Sport Behavior.

4. LaRocca, D. et al. (2025). A mixed methods evaluation of a trauma-informed sport training for youth sports coaches. Journal of Sport for Development.

5. Quesnel, D. A., & Cooper, M. Safe Exercise at Every Stage (SEES-2).

6. Darroch, F. E. et al. (2020). Trauma-informed approaches to physical activity. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.

7. Bergmeier, H. J. et al. (2021). What role can accredited exercise physiologists play in the treatment of eating disorders? Eating Disorders.

8. Bratland-Sanda, S., & Vrabel, K. (2018). Excessive exercise during eating disorder treatment. Journal of Eating Disorders.