Risks of Overtraining and Compulsive Exercising on Human Health

Abstract

David Miranda, a physical therapist and the proprietor of Excel Rehabilitation Services in Gonzales, Louisiana, asserts that excessive exercise is harmful to human health and counterproductive. Women who exercise excessively run a higher risk of developing the “female athlete triad,” which includes eating disorders, osteoporosis, and loss of bone mineral density. Intense exercise has been shown to lower libido in men; this may be due to physical exhaustion and low testosterone levels. According to German research that was recently published online in the journal Heart, excessive high-intensity exercise may actually increase the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke in people who already have heart disease. Too much exercise without adequate recovery might cause low testosterone levels and high amounts of the stress hormone cortisol. Overtraining can increase stress hormone levels, and increase the risk of injury, weariness, and muscle loss. The Wall Street Journal’s article “A Workout Ate My Marriage,” which was published in 2010, describes how spouses grow more estranged from one another as they become fixated on a particular exercise goal, such as extreme weight loss or an Ironman triathlon, at the expense of quality time with loved ones.