January 9, 2023 – January 9, 2023 – If you've resolved to start out exercising this 12 months, here's one other incentive to provide help to stick to it: You may very well be protecting yourself from potentially devastating consequences of COVID-19, like hospitalization and even death.
There is increasing evidence that physical activity can reduce the danger of severe COVID disease. CDChas reported, based on a scientific review of the evidence, that “physical activity is associated with a reduction in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, while inactivity increases this risk.” Others Research has linked regular physical activity to a lower risk of infection, hospitalization and death from COVID.
The latest studyfrom Kaiser Permanente points out that physical activity at almost any level can reduce the danger of severe or fatal COVID disease, even in high-risk patients akin to individuals with hypertension or heart disease.
“We found that any physical activity provides some level of protection,” says lead study creator Deborah Rohm Young, PhD, director of the Behavioral Science Division of the Kaiser Division of Research and Evaluation in Southern California. “Even a 10-minute walk [per] week is associated with better COVID-19 outcomes.”
The best results were seen in “those that consistently follow our national guidelines of greater than 150 minutes per week of at the least brisk walking,” she says. That's 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. However, “every little bit is helpful.”
Yet, according to the CDC, one in four adults is not physically active outside of their job. This is important as we move into January and COVID numbers are risingAt press time, the CDC reported more than 470,000 cases per weekcompared with about 265,000 in the week ending October 12. From December 31 to January 6, an average of more than 6,000 people were hospitalized each day, and there have been a total of 2,731 weekly deaths since January 4.
“The missing piece in our response to the general public health challenges posed by COVID has been the increased need for private and community health,” says Gene Olinger, PhD, chief scientific advisor to research firm MRIGlobal and an associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine. “Proactive medicine – where individuals optimize food plan, exercise, sleep and whole-body meditation – is just not a priority in the present health ecosystem. That is changing, and that is nice news.”
Of course, everyone should still get vaccinated, Young warns, and one should not rely on exercise and a healthy lifestyle alone to ward off severe COVID disease. “The more we will do to guard ourselves from severe COVID disease, the more we must always do.”
The more activity before infection, the better
In the Kaiser study, researchers examined the health records of 194,191 adult Kaiser patients who tested positive for COVID-19 between January 2020 and May 2021.
Patients' activity levels were assessed using a self-report system that Kaiser has used since 2009 and consists of two questions: “On average, what number of days per week do you engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity (akin to a brisk walk)?” and “On average, what number of minutes of physical activity do you engage in at this level?” To be eligible for the study, participants had to have completed at least three of these assessments in the two years prior to infection.
The more active a patient was, the better their results tended to be, the researchers found. In contrast, results were worse for less active patients.
The largest gap was seen in those who were consistently inactive before COVID-19 disease (less than 10 minutes of activity per week), 91% They are hospitalized more often and are 291% more more likely to die from the disease than lively patients.
Like all studies, this one had limitations. Because it was conducted before vaccines were more available, it was impossible to evaluate whether physical activity improved outcomes in those vaccinated. It also didn’t examine the results of exercise on individuals with repeated COVID-19 infections. Nevertheless, the study suggests that inactive people should increase their activity to ward off severe COVID-19.
For physician Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, MD, chief of intensive care at Ottawa Hospital in Canada and associate professor on the University of Ottawa, the positive effects of the exercise are not any surprise.
“As an intensive care physician caring for COVID patients from day one, I have regularly seen that people with poor metabolic health have poor outcomes,” says Kyeremanteng, who was not involved within the study. “It was clear early on that [that] Obesity, diabetes and metabolic diseases [were] Risk factors for severe COVID and death from COVID. Basically, the results of the study correlate with what we have seen on the front lines.”
Fitness is not a guarantee
It's important to note that there are outliers in all trends. Even highly trained athletes who train frequently and hard can – and do – become severely ill with COVID and may have persistent symptoms such as shortness of breath, severe fatigue and difficulty concentrating.
“In younger athletes and those who are optimally fit, there is evidence that COVID can cause myocarditis [heart damage] one in 100,” says Olinger. “Fortunately, it is almost always reversible.”
And while it's controversial, the concept of overtraining (also called overtraining syndrome) is linked to weakened immune function and more cases of upper respiratory infections, he says.
“However, the level of exercise one can achieve varies widely,” says Olinger. “The data clearly shows that vaccination against COVID and regular exercise are the key to lifelong resistance to disease and infection.”
What about training after contracting COVID?
Another warning: Although the evidence shows that exercise before A COVID-19 infection can improve results, but other studies have shown that returning to training too early after Infection with the virus can be dangerous, regardless of your fitness level. Exercise probably worsens the symptoms of Long COVID.
After a COVID-19 illness, you should start exercising again slowly, advises Kyeremanteng, and let your symptoms guide you. study in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sports suggests that athletes with no or minimal symptoms should return to their pre-COVID training habits “gradually” over a period of 7 to 14 days. “Those with pre-existing medical comorbidities should proceed with more caution,” the study says.
“Listen to your body,” says Olinger. “Only you know what feels right.”