Exercise and Crohn's Study

[copeland]

Not sure how much faith to put in this; on one hand the statistics seem OK, but on the other, I was 17, eating well and running 40-50 miles a week when I first got Crohn's symptoms so it's hard for me personally to believe.

http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f6633?etoc=

I think one major flaw in studies like this is that Crohn's often goes undiagnosed for a long time, during which time people may have mild-moderate symptoms even from childhood that they don't seek treatment for until they become more severe. These people would probably tend to be less active due to these mild-moderate symptoms; hence, the lower level of activity could be a result of as-yet-undiagnosed Crohn's instead of a risk factor for the disease.

Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

 

[chrohnotrigger]

Yeah it definitely is an interesting fact that they were able to show that there was a statistically significant incidence of Crohn's tied to activity level, but it certainly does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship like you highlighted. I liked your explanation: that the women interviewed naturally exercised less if they were feeling "down" because of Crohn's throughout the years. Regular exercise is a lifestyle choice people make or don't make and a general feeling of malaise due to undiagnosed but building Crohn's over years could definitely dissuade someone from pursuing an active lifestyle.

 

[HelenMelb]

Exercise has many health benefits beyond weight reduction, and maybe there are some immune system benefits provided by exercise that lower the risk of Crohn's. I think that's about as much as we can glean from the study. As you say copeland, you can be very physically fit and active and still develop the condition. Also, there is still no understanding of why infants are being diagnosed with Crohn's, and this was virtually unheard of 20 years ago. It cannot be explained by genetics as it has occurred in one generation. We have a long way to go in understanding this disease.

 

[jjk308]

Just another study confusing cause and effect. if you look at the methodology there's no way to differentiate the effects of undiagnosed Crohn's. I had symptoms for about 15years before a complete blockage, but it was always passed off as flu, gastric upset, gas, fevers of unknown origin, etc... Autoimmune symptoms and intestinal upsets are not conducive to exercising much.