Screening with the Exercise Addiction Inventory

The six-item Exercise Addiction Inventory scores one statement for each of Griffiths’ components of behavioural addiction on a 1–5 scale. The sum runs 6–30, and a total of 24 or more flags someone as at risk of exercise addiction. Set each item as it fits and watch the total cross the cut-off — a screen, never a diagnosis.

Salience: Exercise is the most important thing in my life.3/5
Conflict: Conflicts have arisen with my family or partner about my exercise.3/5
Mood modification: I use exercise as a way of changing my mood.3/5
Tolerance: Over time I have increased the amount of exercise I do in a day.3/5
Withdrawal: If I skip a session I become moody or irritable.3/5
Relapse: If I cut down and then start again, I return to the same amount.3/5
cut-off 24630
Total score 18/30. This is below the cut-off of 24: committed exercise can score highly on salience and mood modification without reaching the at-risk band. It is the pattern of conflict, withdrawal and escalation together that distinguishes dependence.

Tolerance forces the dose to escalate

Suppose a fixed daily dose of exercise once delivered enough relief, but each week tolerance erodes its effect by a fraction t. To hold the same relief, the dose must grow geometrically: dn = 60 · (1 / (1 − t))n minutes. Raise the tolerance rate and watch how fast the training load climbs toward a life ceiling of 120 min/day — the point at which exercise crowds out work, rest and relationships.

Weekly tolerance erosion (t)0.10
060120180240life ceiling 120 mindose (min/day)week (n)week 6.58
With t = 0.10 the weekly multiplier is 1.111: the dose runs 102 min by week 5 and 172 min by week 10. It reaches the 120-minute life ceiling at week 6.58. (This is the article's worked example.)

Committed or dependent? Two kinds of passion

The dualistic model separates two ways a valued activity is internalized. Harmonious passion is taken up freely and sits alongside the rest of life; obsessive passion controls the person, who feels compelled to exercise even when it conflicts with everything else. The same high training volume can come from either. Set each and read where the behaviour falls on the committed–dependent spectrum.

Harmonious passion (chosen, integrated)0.60
Obsessive passion (compelled, controlling)0.40
obsessive-dominantharmonious-dominantharmonious passion →obsessive passion →
Risk index 0.39 — this profile reads as mixed. The two passions are balanced: high commitment shading toward control. Watch for the shift — it is a rising ratio of obsessive to harmonious passion, not volume alone, that marks the slide into dependence.