A pilot study of exercise training for children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease: an evaluation of feasibility, safety, satisfaction, and efficacy

Background Children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) experience extra-intestinal side effects including altered body composition, impaired muscle strength and aerobic capacity. Exercise training may remedy these issues. Purpose To assess the feasibility, safety, participant satisfaction and efficacy of a training program for youth with IBD. Methods Children with IBD completed 16 weeks of training (2 supervised+1 home sessions per week). Feasibility was assessed by tracking recruitment, adherence, and compliance rates. Safety was assessed by tracking symptoms and adverse events. Post-training interviews gauged satisfaction. Circulating inflammatory markers, body composition, muscle strength, aerobic fitness, and habitual physical activity, were measured at baseline, mid-training (8 weeks), and post-training. Results Eleven youth were recruited and 10 completed the study. Participants adhered to 28±1 of 32 prescribed supervised sessions and 8±4 of 16 prescribed home sessions. There were no adverse events, and overall feedback on training was positive. Post-training, we observed an increase in lean mass (+2.4±1.1 kg), bone density (+0.0124±0.015 g•cm-2), aerobic fitness (+2.8±5.7 mL•kgLM-1•min-1), and vigorous physical activity levels (+13.09± 8.95 min•hr-1) but no change in inflammation or muscle strength. Conclusion Supervised exercise training is feasible, safe, and effective for youth with IBD and should be encouraged. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Clinical Trial NCT05591976 ### Funding Statement This study was supported by a Discovery Grant (#341353-07) from the Natural Sciences and Research Council of Canada awarded to BWT ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board gave ethical approval for this work. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors