Research

Hormonal

Obesity, particularly when present in early adulthood or involving significant weight gain, is associated with an increased risk of developing Crohn's Disease, but not Ulcerative Colitis.

Maintaining a healthy weight, especially during adolescence and early adulthood, may lower your risk of developing Crohn's Disease. This study suggests that obesity is a specific risk factor for Crohn's but not Ulcerative Colitis. Focus on healthy lifestyle habits early in life to potentially mitigate this risk.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
In a large prospective cohort of U.S. women, measures of adiposity were associated with an increased risk of CD but not UC.
Hamed Khalili et al. · Inflammatory Bowel Diseases · 2015

Why this rating

Large prospective cohort (NHSII), long follow-up (>18 years), validated case ascertainment, and adjustment for multiple confounders.

Source

Measures of Obesity and Risk of Crohnʼs Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

Hamed Khalili et al. · Inflammatory Bowel Diseases · 2015

DOI 10.1097/mib.0000000000000283

cohort · n=111498Cited 168×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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