The Details

CrossFit improves your health. Duh.

Anyone who does CrossFit can tell you that, but now a new study agrees.

New research from the UK, published in , suggests that CrossFit participation could help people reduce their need for prescription drugs for various physical and mental health ailments and have fewer doctor visits in general.

The Study

The study included 1,211 people between the ages of 19 and 67 in the UK who actively engaged in CrossFit workouts.

• The majority of the participants, however, were between the ages of 30 and 39 (38%) or 40 and 49 (26%). In other words, 64% of the total participants were 30-49 years old.

Researchers then looked at what prescription drugs the participants took before starting CrossFit and whether they were still taking them.

• Out of the 1,211 participants, 280 of them took one prescription for a health condition. Common conditions were anxiety and depression, asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, and chronic pain.
• Since starting CrossFit, 54% of the 280 said they decreased their medication dose by more than half, while 69 people stopped taking their medication entirely.
• Further, 40% of all participants reported needing fewer visits to the doctor since starting CrossFit.

The Lead Researcher’s Takeaway

The lead researcher, Dr. Athalie Redwood-Mills, a professor at Nottingham Trent University in the UK, a CrossFit Level 3 Certified Trainer, and the co-founder of FiiT for Life, an organization that helps fight chronic diseases through CrossFit, said the biggest takeaway here is that “CrossFit could reduce the huge burden on the medical services.”

She added: “And the biggest win would be reducing mental health meds. It’s an obvious swap and CrossFit is an obvious choice due to the psycho-social aspects [and] the community.”

One More Thing

Those with chronic pain, namely back pain or arthritis, before CrossFit saw especially notable changes.

• Half of those who took painkillers before CrossFit reported reducing their medication.

Further, 71 participants said they either postponed or canceled a joint or muscle-related surgery after gaining strength through CrossFit, with 31 people reporting that they no longer required surgery.

A Note on the Study’s Limitations

The data used to conduct this study, provided by CrossFit UK, was comprised of a voluntary, self-reported 14-question online survey about training, medication use, and comments related to the impact of CrossFit training on respondents’ overall health.

• The researchers noted that their testing pool was small (n=1,211) and that “to establish causality, prospective studies and longitudinal designs are necessary.”

The Big Picture

Anyone who does CrossFit can tell you about all the health benefits they are reaping. But while there’s a lot of research out there that considers exercise and health, there’s a lack of research that looks at CrossFit specifically.

So, this study has to be seen as important in terms of its focus specifically on CrossFit and the powerful results it can bring.

Conclusion

This study highlights the potential benefits of CrossFit for overall health and wellness. By reducing the need for prescription medication and decreasing doctor visits, CrossFit can have a significant impact on individuals’ quality of life.

FAQs

Q: What was the scope of the study?

A: The study included 1,211 people between the ages of 19 and 67 in the UK who actively engaged in CrossFit workouts.

Q: What were the most common health conditions among participants?

A: The most common health conditions were anxiety and depression, asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, and chronic pain.

Q: How did participants’ medication use change after starting CrossFit?

A: 54% of participants decreased their medication dose by more than half, while 69 people stopped taking their medication entirely.

Q: What were the limitations of the study?

A: The study had a small testing pool (n=1,211) and relied on self-reported data, which may not be entirely accurate.