Habitual dietary intake of fat, tea, and unhealthy foods linked to abdominal complaints during exercise

A new study by Mireille Baart and team has revealed that exercise-related abdominal complaints (AC) had an influence on the participants' running in one third of the cases assessed. Further the researchers found that habitual dietary intake of fat, tea, and unhealthy foods was positively associated with abdominal complaints (AC) during running. Additionally, several personal characteristics were positively associated with exercise-related AC, including female sex, younger age, and running at a higher intensity

The findings of this study were published in BMJ Open Sports and Exercise Medicine.

Running-related abdominal pains are a prevalent issue. Exercise-related AC is known to be influenced by nutrition, although research on the impact of routine food consumption is scant. As a result, researchers examined the prevalence of AC in a sizable cohort of runners and looked at the relationship between it and suspected risk factors, paying special attention to dietary components.

Two online surveys were completed by a total of 1993 runners: a general survey on topics including running habits and exercise-related AC and a food frequency survey. Personal traits, running traits, and food consumption patterns were examined amongst runners with and without either upper AC (UAC) or lower AC (LAC).

The key findings of this study were:

1139 runners (57%) reported having AC during running and/or for up to three hours thereafter.

302 runners (15%), 1115 (56%) and 278 (14%) reported UAC, LAC, and both.

Running was negatively impacted by these problems in roughly one-third of AC runners.

Positive correlations between exercise-related AC and female gender, younger age, and faster running were found.

The majority of relationships with dietary parameters were only seen in males with LAC, and these guys consumed more calories, all macronutrients, and grain products overall.

A larger tea intake and unhealthy decisions were linked to AC in both men and women.

Being female, being younger in age, and running harder were all connected with AC. There were several dietary habits connected with AC. Positive connections with consumption of fat, tea, and unhealthy decisions were particularly noteworthy.

Reference:

Baart, A. M., Terink, R., Zwerver, J., Witteman, B. J. M., & Mensink, M. (2023). Exercise-related abdominal complaints in a large cohort of runners: a survey with a particular focus on nutrition. In BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine (Vol. 9, Issue 2, p. e001571). BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2023-001571