Fit or nothing! University students’ exercise addiction, eating disorders and mediator effect of sports supplement use

Abstract

Researches have revealed that most of the university age male individuals are not satisfied with their body image and prefer a more muscular body. This has revealed the accepted phenomena in mental illness classifications such as exercise dependence and eating disorder. In line with this information, the main purpose of the research is to examine the mediating effect of the use of sports supplements on the relationship between exercise addiction and eating disorder. 372 male university students participated in the research. Validity and reliability analyze were applied to the obtained data within the scope of the measurement model. The steps expressed by Baron and Kenny (1986) were followed in order to determine the mediation effect. As a result of the analysis, it has been empirically proved that the use of sports supplements mediates the relationship between exercise addiction and eating disorder. The results of the research have contributed significantly to the ongoing discussions as one of the leading researches in the literature. In addition, it provided clues to the researchers and practitioners who obtained the results in the detection and treatment of such important mental disorders.