Practicing physical exercise has numerous health benefits, and not only prevents the onset of disease, but also improves emotional well-being and protects against the effects of aging. Now, a review of studies has added a new edge by finding that regular exercise can also reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus infection and experiencing severe COVID-19 symptoms – including requiring hospital admission or death – in case of infection.
The results of the study, which has been directed by Antonio García-Hermoso, from the Public University of Navarra, reveal that the greatest protection is achieved with 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity per week. Physical exercise had already been linked in previous studies to a reduction in both the risk of infection and its severity in respiratory infections, due in part to the fact that it boosts the immune system.
In the case of COVID-19, the link between regular physical activity and disease severity is not well understood, but according to the researchers, metabolic and environmental factors are likely to be involved. The objective of their study, which has been published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, was to quantify the threshold of physical activity from which the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization and death from this cause could decrease.
Regular moderate-intensity exercise can promote the body’s anti-inflammatory responses, cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, and protect against severe COVID-19
The team of scientists reviewed the scientific publications between November 2019 and March 2022 to search for papers that had investigated the effects of physical exercise on SARS-CoV-2 infection and found 16 papers that met the criteria to be selected and that included data from 1,853,610 people (54% women) with a mean age of 53 years. Most of the studies were observational and had been carried out in South Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, Iran, Spain, Brazil, Palestine, South Africa, and Sweden.
43% lower risk of death from COVID-19
Analyzing the data, the researchers found that those who exercised regularly had an 11% lower risk of coronavirus infection, a 44% lower risk of severe illness from COVID-19, a 36% lower risk of hospital admission, and a 43% lower risk of hospital admission. Lower % of death due to this disease, than that of physically inactive participants. They also observed that the benefit provided by physical activity was independent of other factors that could have influenced.
The maximum protective effect occurred around 500 minutes per week of the metabolic equivalent of the task (MET), after which there were no further improvements. EMTs express the amount of energy (calories) expended per minute of physical activity, and 500 of them are equivalent to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity.
The researchers have warned that their analysis included observational studies, different study designs and subjective assessments of physical activity levels, and that they were carried out during the waves caused by the beta and delta variants of the coronavirus, and not by omicron, aspects that can alter the interpretation of the results.
They point out, however, that there are plausible biological explanations for their findings, as regular moderate-intensity exercise may help promote the body’s anti-inflammatory responses, as well as cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, which may in turn explain their findings. beneficial effects to prevent COVID-19 from evolving into a serious condition.
“Our findings highlight the protective effects of sufficient physical activity as a public health strategy, with potential benefits in reducing the risk of severe COVID-19,” the researchers state, adding: “Given the heterogeneity and risk of publication bias , more studies with standardized methodology and results reports are now needed”.
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