Excessive Exercise Side Effects: What UAE Doctors Want You to Know

Why UAE doctors are sounding the alarm

Speaking to Khaleej Times, UAE clinicians described a rise in what they call “fitness obsession”: prolonged calorie restriction, rapid weight loss and relentless training that can affect hormones, bone health and mental wellbeing. Dr Priyanka Porwal, an internal medicine specialist at Aster Clinic on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, recommends gradual weight loss of around 0.5 to 0.9kg a week rather than crash approaches. Ruba El Hourani, head of preventive health and nutrition at RAK Hospital, warned that social media influencers often promote extreme diets without revealing the genetics, professional support or editing behind the look, nudging followers toward restrictive eating and risky supplements.

The excessive exercise side effects to watch for

When training outpaces recovery and fuelling, the first signs are easy to dismiss. According to the UAE experts, low energy availability — when the body simply does not have enough energy for activity and its essential functions — can show up as fatigue, dizziness, poor concentration, irritability and a decline in the very performance you are training for.

Common excessive exercise symptoms

• Constant calorie counting and obsessive body checking
• Cutting out whole food groups without a medical reason
• Guilt or anxiety after eating
• Training through injury or illness instead of resting
• Choosing workouts over sleep, relationships or responsibilities
• Unexplained weight loss, persistent fatigue, hair loss or recurring injuries

Cardiologist Dr Rahul Chaudhary of International Modern Hospital in Dubai adds a counter-intuitive twist: overtraining can trigger chronic stress that prompts the body to hold on to fat, and can increase the hunger and cravings that lead to overeating. In other words, doing too much can work against the exact goal it is meant to serve.

Low energy availability and excessive exercise syndrome

The pattern has a name in sports medicine. Health guidance on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) explains that it develops when someone does not get enough fuel to meet the body’s energy demands over time. A 2023 International Olympic Committee consensus statement notes that RED-S and overtraining syndrome usually share overlapping symptoms, and that no single test can diagnose either. RED-S can affect hormones and menstruation, bone density, immune function, heart function and mental health — and, importantly, it is not just an elite-athlete problem. It affects people at every level, from recreational competitors upward. The reported fix is not more discipline but more fuel: raising energy intake to match demand, and easing training load where needed. Anyone worried about these signs should speak to a doctor rather than self-diagnose.

Rest and recovery are training, not a day off

The encouraging part is how ordinary the solution is. The UAE doctors point to roughly 150 minutes of moderate activity a week with proper rest days, and Dr Chaudhary suggests 30-minute sessions of moderate exercise several times a week to cut the risk of injury and burnout. Exercising for over 60 minutes every day with no rest days, by contrast, is where overtraining tends to begin. Rest is when muscles rebuild, hormones rebalance and the next session actually gets better — skipping it is not toughness, it is leaving results on the table.

A balanced way to train — and to keep it that way

Balance is easier when your training has structure and variety rather than one punishing setting. Mixing strength work with genuine recovery — mobility, stretching and lower-intensity movement — protects the progress that endless hard days erode. If you are not sure how much is too much, a coach can build a plan around your goals and your recovery, and a mix of classes keeps training enjoyable enough to stay consistent, which beats intensity you cannot sustain.

Train smart, not just hard, at GymNation

At GymNation we would always rather you trained in a way you can keep up for years than burned out in a month. If you want to find a sustainable rhythm — strength, classes and recovery in balance — come and see how it feels first. Try GymNation with a free day pass and build a routine that works with your body, not against it.

Sources:
khaleejtimes.com
healthline.com

The opinions shared in the GymNation blog articles are solely those of the respective authors and may not represent the perspectives of GymNation or any member of the GymNation team.