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Table 1 Participants’ characteristics and measured by sex: boys (n = 288) and girls (n = 284)

From: Under pressure to exercise: a cross-sectional study of characteristics and predictors of compulsive exercise in early adolescents

Participants’ characteristics and measures

Boys

Girls

Diff

ESa

Continuous variables

mean (SD)

mean (SD)

t

d

Age, years

13.9 (0.3)

13.9 (0.3)

 − 1.1

0.00

BMI, kg/m2

20.0 (3.4)

20.7 (3.3)

 − 2.1*

0.21

PA levelb, cpm

473.9 (217.8)

499.0 (263.6)

 − 0.9

0.10

BREQ amotivation

0.2 (0.6)

0.2 (0.6)

0.4

0.00

BREQ external regulation

0.4 (0.6)

0.4 (0.7)

0.5

0.00

BREQ introjected regulation

1.1 (1.1)

1.2 (1.1)

0.3

0.09

BREQ identified regulation

2.1 (1.7)

2.2 (1.1)

1.6

0.07

BREQ intrinsic motivation

2.5 (1.2)

2.7 (1.2)

2.0*

0.17

CET total

10.0 (4.0)

9.3 (3.4)

2.0*

0.19

CET avoidance and rule-driven behaviour

1.5 (1.2)

1.3 (1.1)

2.1*

0.17

CET weight control

1.9 (1.1)

1.8 (1.2)

1.8

0.09

CET mood improvement

2.7 (1.3)

2.6 (1.2)

1.3

0.08

CET lack of enjoyment

1.2 (1.1)

1.2 (1.2)

0.9

0.00

CET rigidity

2.7 (1.3)

2.6 (1.3)

2.1

0.08

Categorical variables

N (%)

N (%)

χ2(1)

R

Weekly participation in exercise and/or sports

264 (92)

267 (94)

1.2

0.04

Exercise arena: organized sports

196 (68)

230 (81)

12.6***

0.15

Exercise arena: fitness training centre

51 (18)

31 (11)

5.4*

0.10

Use of exercise monitoring tools

92 (32)

107 (38)

2.1

0.06

Weight gain attempts past 12 months

44 (15)

19 (7)

10.8***

0.14

Weight loss attempts past 12 months

39 (14)

80 (28)

18.6***

0.18

Meeting PA recommendationsb

59 (38)

61 (36)

0.2

0.02

Above CET cut off score (CET ≥ 15)

26 (9)

16 (6)

2.4

0.06

  1. BMI body mass index (kg/m2). PA physical activity. Cpm counts per minute. BREQ Behavioural Regulation of Exercise Questionnaire. CET Compulsive Exercise Test
  2. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001
  3. aEffect size: Cohen’s d (continuous variables) and r coefficient (categorical variables). bn = 379