Regular Exercise Helps To Lower Risk of Contracting COVID-19, New Study Finds

A new study found that regular or routine exercise can lower the risk of contracting COVID-19 infections, hospitalization, and even death.

Researchers found that approximately 20 minutes of daily exercise may protect against coronavirus along with its severe symptoms. The study was published on Monday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Link of Exercise to Better COVID-19 Outcomes

The team that conducted the study indicated that a total of 150 minutes of moderate exercise as well as intense physical activity is a healthy defense against the deadly disease. However, the researchers noted that the study should be read with caution due to its limitations.

Researchers quantified the minutes of necessary physical exercise by analyzing global data from sixteen different studies completed between November 2019 and March 2022. The total number of participants from the examined data included 1.8 million people, with an average age of 53 years.

The pooled data showed that regularly exercised individuals had an 11% lower risk of catching COVID-19 infections. Furthermore, these individuals had a 36% lower likelihood of being hospitalized, a 44% lower chance of developing serious symptoms, and a 43% lower chance of dying from the illness, as per Fox News.

The pooled data that the researchers, who are based in Spain, examined came from nine studies conducted in Brazil, Canada, England, Iran, Palestine, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, and Sweden.

The researchers added that the link between regular physical activity and COVID-19 outcomes is poorly understood but likely involved both metabolic and environmental factors. They noted that there was growing evidence that suggested increased physical activity may modulate the disease course and reduce the development of negative outcomes in confirmed cases.

According to The Guardian, previous research suggests that physical activity can lessen both the risk and severity of respiratory infections due at least in part to its ability to boost the immune system.

Regular Moderate Physical Activity

The researchers found that the maximum protective effect occurred at about 500 Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) minutes a week, after which there were no further improvements. METS express the amount of energy (calories) expended in a minute of physical activity.

For example, 500 of them are the equivalent of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity. However, the team cautioned that the analysis included observational studies, differing study designs, subjective assessments of physical activity levels, and concerned only the Beta and Delta variants of Sars-CoV-2 rather than Omicron.

The researchers said that there are plausible biological explanations for the results of the study, including regular moderate-intensity exercise helping to boost the body's anti-inflammatory responses as well as cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness. All of these could explain its beneficial effects on COVID-19 severity, the team suggested.

Despite the findings, the study does not provide proof that exercise is causing the beneficial effects, only noting that it is linked to better COVID-19 outcomes. The researchers noted a variety of other factors could be the reason, such as differences in lifestyle, viral exposure, and socioeconomic status between active and sedentary people, the Time reported.