Time devoted to individual, collective, and two-person sports: Its association with risk of exercise addiction and alcohol use disorder (2022)

INTRODUCTION: Although sport activities have beneficial effects on health, excessive practice can lead to exercise addiction (EA), which can be associated with other addictive behaviors. However, results regarding the comorbidities between EA and alcohol use disorder (AUD) remain heterogeneous. This study aims to investigate the relationship between a proxy of AUD and different sport practices, more specifically focusing on EA.
METHODS: One thousand nine hundred eighty-five (N = 1,985) participants were recruited online and selected to represent the French adult population. Participants were asked to answer questions regarding sport activity, with the EA inventory questionnaire investigating EA, and alcohol consumption, with the CAGE questionnaire investigating a proxy of AUD (score >=2).
RESULTS: AUD was associated with a higher risk of EA and with more time devoted to collective sports (such as football) and two-person sports (such as tennis). The risk of EA was higher for individual sports (such as running), and the risk of AUD seems to increase with the level of physical activity for collective sport but to decrease for individual sports. The type of sports partly but significantly mediated the relationship between AUD and EA.
CONCLUSIONS: Results support the hypothesis that different types of sport have different risks for EA (individual sports being more concerned) and AUD (collective sports being more concerned). Results suggest that the type of sports may be a crucial variable to understand how physical activity can be a risk factor for alcohol disorders. The social dimension of collective sports should be further investigated to facilitate preventive approaches.