Exercise may lessen risk of severe COVID-19, study shows chicagotribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chicagotribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Updated Apr 15, 2021 | 18:41 IST
The study gathered data from nearly 50,000 Californians who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2, finding that those who had been most active prior to falling ill were least likely to have to be hospitalised. Representational image. | Photo Credit: iStock Images
Key Highlights
While the study in no way suggests that exercise is a substitute for immunisation, it does indicate that performing some kind of physical activity with regularity can significantly lower one s chances of becoming severely ill if infected with COVID-19
The researchers looked at 48,440 anonymised records of adult men and women who had had their exercise habits documented, at least, thrice in recent years, and who had taken ill with the COVID-19 infection
By Wendy Wilde, Madeleine McCormick
Apr 15, 2021
UNDATED The latest research suggests regular exercise reduces the risk of severe coronavirus symptoms.
The Kaiser-Permanente study published this week surveyed nearly 50,000 adults who tested positive for COVID-19.
Researchers found people who are the most inactive were almost two times more likely to be hospitalized with severe coronavirus symptoms, and two and a half times more likely to die.
They define inactivity as zero to ten minutes of exercise per week. This is a wake-up call for the importance of healthy lifestyles and especially physical activity, said Robert E. Sallis, MD. This study truly shows how important that is during this pandemic and beyond. People who regularly exercise had the best chance of beating COVID-19, while people who were inactive did much worse.
Steven Senne, Associated Press
Want to avoid a severe case of COVID-19? A new study says you may want to exercise regularly.
How to avoid severe COVID-19
A new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that people who followed physical activity guidelines which call for 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week had lower chances of severe COVID-19.
The study which reviewed health records for about 50,000 adults from California who got COVID-19 showed there were lower hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths among those who participated in physical activity. Related
Specifically, the study looked at how well the participants followed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ physical activity guidelines, which suggests exercising 22 minutes per day.