Exercise Craving: A Scale Development Study

Exercise craving refers to an uncontrollable urge to engage in exercise, accompanied by cognitive and emotional responses when deprived of it. Although several instruments exist to measure exercise addiction, there is no valid and reliable tool specifically designed to assess exercise craving. Addressing this gap is essential to better understand the psychological and behavioral outcomes of exercise deprivation. This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable scale to evaluate exercise craving levels in individuals unable to exercise.

The research was conducted with a survey model in five stages. First, a comprehensive literature review and expert evaluations were used to generate an item pool. The preliminary version was piloted with 30 participants and revised. The finalized version was then applied to a sample of 222 volunteers. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were performed to examine validity. Reliability was assessed using test-retest, Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability (CR), and average variance extracted (AVE).

EFA revealed a two-factor structure, and one item was removed due to low loading, resulting in an eight-item scale that explained 74.628% of the variance. The first factor, exercise obsession, captured cognitive and emotional reactions to deprivation, while the second factor, effects of deprivation, reflected its negative influence on mood and daily functioning. CFA results confirmed a good model fit (χ²/df = 2.327, RMSEA = 0.077, SRMR = 0.030, CFI = 0.995, TLI = 0.990). Reliability analyses showed strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.897).

The exercise craving scale is proposed as a valid and reliable tool for assessing the psychological and cognitive consequences of exercise deprivation.