Behavioral exercise intervention to increase physical activity in patients with behavioral addictive disorders

Background: Behavioral addictions are not as known as substance addictions, and yet they are very present in modern society and continuing to grow. Physical activity has been recognized as an applicable and effective treatment for this type of addictions. Although there are only scarce sources on the subject, three recently conducted studies investigated the effects of a physical intervention in the same context as this one. This paper aims to broaden and support the positive findings that could be observed so far.
Method: a physical intervention based on the MOVO concept was carried out with in-patients from the Department of Behavioral Addiction of the University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK). The SIMPAQ interview was used to elicit the differences in movement behavior before (Baseline) and after (Post) hospitalization, as well as eight weeks after that (Follow-up). Likewise, four written questionnaires (BDI, PSS, SVF-18, FKK-32) were used to record the changes in the participants’ mental health state. The changes over time were calculated by analysis of variance with repeated measures (ANOVA), and Spearman correlations between changes and different measurement times were established.
Results: in the Baseline measurement, Light physical activity (LPA) correlated the strongest with mental well-being, whereas in the Follow-up measurement, higher Intensive physical activity (VPA), and lower Sedentary behavior (SED) values correlated with mental ill-being. Also, bigger changes in movement behavior did not correlate with greater improvements in mental well-being. Patients with “worse” baseline levels, and patients affected by Gambling disorder experienced the greatest improvements.
Conclusion: not only more movement behavior is necessary to improve mental well-being but also its quality is determining. Further, baseline levels and the type of behavioral disorder can influence how much a patient can improve their physical and mental state during hospitalization.