A little physical activity reduces the risk of covid | Meta-study
The mass media tell almost nothing about the effect of lifestyle on a viral disease about which there is much to be said, but about which you should keep your mouth shut. Anyone who does not look for information independently knows nothing about the protective effect of vitamin D, zinc, quercetin and vitamin C. The media will undoubtedly also be silent about the Spanish meta-study, which concludes on the basis of the data of 1,853,610 study participants that exercise can also protect against covid.
Study
Researchers from the Universitat de Valencia in Spain traced 16 previously published studies in the scientific literature, in which the authors looked at the effect of physical activity on the risk of covid in adults.
The researchers looked at the effect on infection, hospitalization, serious illness (need to administer oxygen or admission to the ICU) and death.
The Spaniards based their assessment of the amount of daily exercise on the guidelines of the WHO. Those who were physically active for 500 MET minutes a week - say: 5 days a week walked at a brisk pace for half an hour - exercised sufficiently, according to the researchers.
Results
A lifestyle with sufficient or more than sufficient exercise reduced the risk of infection by 11 percent. Exercise reduced the chance of hospitalization and severe covid by 36 and 34 percent, respectively. Exercise reduced the risk of death from covid by 43 percent.
In the figures below, the researchers have plotted the relationship between the amount of weekly exercise on the one hand and the risk of severe covid and death on the other. You really need 500 MET minutes per week for optimal protection. This is equivalent to walking 150 minutes per week.
More physical activity is of course also fine.
Mechanism
The researchers elaborate a few sentences on how physical activity could protect against covid. In animal studies, exercise activates the immune system, they write. In human research, exercise appears to mainly attenuate inflammatory reactions. Both effects could explain the results of the meta-analysis.
Conclusion
The studies are quite diverse. The researchers also fear that some studies with unexpected results have not been published. They call for more research.
Source:
Br J Sports Med. 2022 Aug 22;bjsports-2022-105733.
The mass media tell almost nothing about the effect of lifestyle on a viral disease about which there is much to be said, but about which you should keep your mouth shut. Anyone who does not look for information independently knows nothing about the protective effect of vitamin D, zinc, quercetin and vitamin C. The media will undoubtedly also be silent about the Spanish meta-study, which concludes on the basis of the data of 1,853,610 study participants that exercise can also protect against covid.
Study
Researchers from the Universitat de Valencia in Spain traced 16 previously published studies in the scientific literature, in which the authors looked at the effect of physical activity on the risk of covid in adults.
The researchers looked at the effect on infection, hospitalization, serious illness (need to administer oxygen or admission to the ICU) and death.
The Spaniards based their assessment of the amount of daily exercise on the guidelines of the WHO. Those who were physically active for 500 MET minutes a week - say: 5 days a week walked at a brisk pace for half an hour - exercised sufficiently, according to the researchers.
Results
A lifestyle with sufficient or more than sufficient exercise reduced the risk of infection by 11 percent. Exercise reduced the chance of hospitalization and severe covid by 36 and 34 percent, respectively. Exercise reduced the risk of death from covid by 43 percent.
In the figures below, the researchers have plotted the relationship between the amount of weekly exercise on the one hand and the risk of severe covid and death on the other. You really need 500 MET minutes per week for optimal protection. This is equivalent to walking 150 minutes per week.
More physical activity is of course also fine.
Mechanism
The researchers elaborate a few sentences on how physical activity could protect against covid. In animal studies, exercise activates the immune system, they write. In human research, exercise appears to mainly attenuate inflammatory reactions. Both effects could explain the results of the meta-analysis.
Conclusion
The studies are quite diverse. The researchers also fear that some studies with unexpected results have not been published. They call for more research.
Source:
Br J Sports Med. 2022 Aug 22;bjsports-2022-105733.
