Worse than smoking: lack of exercise doubles risk of severe Covid-19

 

Lack of exercise and physical inactivity add to the list of risk factors that lead to hospitalization and death from severe Covid-19, since together with smoking and obesity they weaken the immune system

Photo: JOHN THYS / AFP, file

 

New research revealed that physical inactivity doubles  the probability of being hospitalized and suffering from a serious Covid-19 disease , since sedentary lifestyle is much more harmful than other risk factors , such as suffering from comorbidities such as smoking , obesity and hypertension.

The American center "Kaiser Permanente", through the Department of Family and Sports Medicine, carried out a study in which it considered the consequences of lack of physical activity on the effects of the new coronavirus disease .

The foundation, based in California, United States (EU), dedicated to establishing health plans around sports life, collected information on the physical activity of 48,440 people with Covid-19, in which a brisk walk it was considered as exercise.

This follow-up focused on questions that answered questions such as how many days a week they exercised, with what degree of intensity, and an average number of minutes invested in weekly physical activity.

The data compilation was carried out between January and October of last year and only took into account adult patients, of which the mean age - average age of all the volunteers - was 47 years, while 62% of the people studied they were women and 38% men. 

The results, published in the " British Journal of Sports Medicine ", showed that 50% of those surveyed had no underlying disease; 32% had more than two conditions and the remaining 18% had an ailment.

Among the most common diseases reported by the volunteers were diabetes , chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ), cardiovascular problems, kidney ailments and various types of cancer.

The experts divided the participants into three groups, taking into account the results of the survey, based on the level of activity they performed.

Photo: JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP

 

People who spent zero to 10 minutes a week were considered “constantly inactive”; while the patients who exercised for 11 to 149 minutes were part of the group of those who performed "some activity"; and those who practiced exercises for more than 150 minutes "met the guidelines recommended" by the experts.

The researchers assured that 79.2% reported carrying out some activity, 14.4% practiced sedentary lifestyle and only 6.4% constantly complied with exercising.

To gauge the impact on lack of physical activity, Kaiser Permanente members stated that, of the study participants, 8.6% were hospitalized, 2.4% were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and 1.6% lost. life from complications of the disease.

Photo: EFE / EPA / STEPHANIE LECOCQ, file

The authors of the study found that those who did not exercise were more than twice as likely to be hospitalized, compared to those who registered more than 150 minutes of physical exercise per week.

"In fact, physical inactivity was the most notable risk factor in the results, compared to commonly cited risk factors, including smoking, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer," he explained. Robert Sallis, in an interview with the Scientific News and Research System (SINC).

The representative of the medical society expressed being convinced that the findings, thrown in his study, represent a clear guideline to reduce the risk of suffering Covid-19 in a serious way, as well as the decrease in mortality caused by this disease, if the world population is ready to change their habits.
"With a little exercise you can go a long way," insisted the researcher and recommended that civil society walk 30 minutes a day, five days a week. For this, it is not necessary to increase the speed, as a moderate pace will be sufficient and "will have an enormous protective effect against Covid-19," he said.

Photo: JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP, file

To recognize the ideal speed during our walks, Sallis explained that "the way in which someone can measure if they are walking at a moderate pace is that they are too exhausted to sing but can still speak."

The execution of physical activity -remarked the coordinator of the study- is associated with improvements in lung capacity, cardiovascular health and the strengthening of muscles, and all this reinforces immune function, so he assured that it is time to reconsider the time we spend resting and spending more minutes practicing sports.