“I think this study supports the growing evidence that, along with vaccination, daily physical activity is the most important thing you can do to prevent severe COVID-19 outcomes.” Permanente, California Former President of Fontana Medical Center and American College of Sports Medicine. He has studied covid and exercise, but is not involved in new research.
However, the results of this study do not show how much exercise maximizes the effectiveness of the vaccine and whether it is possible to benefit if you have already received a full vaccination or plan to receive it soon. I am questioning whether it is too late.
A wealth of research over the past year has shown that being active and healthy greatly reduces your risk of becoming seriously ill if you contract the novel coronavirus. He led a study of nearly 50,000 Californians who tested positive for coronavirus before a vaccine was available. People who walked or exercised regularly before getting sick were about half as likely to need hospitalization as those who were sedentary.
Similarly, an August review of 16 previous studies involving nearly 2 million people found that active people were more likely to contract COVID-19, be hospitalized, and be hospitalized than inactive people. It was concluded that the likelihood of death was significantly reduced.
Salis said this relationship between the movement and the fight against COVID-19 makes sense. “We know that regular physical activity improves immune function,” he says, and lung health and levels of inflammation as well.
But the study didn’t look at whether active people could get additional benefits from coronavirus immunizations or boosters.
So for a new study just published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Johannesburg researchers collected anonymized records of about 200,000 men and women from the nation’s largest health insurer.
The records included information on people’s immunizations, COVID outcomes, and exercise habits, collected from activity trackers and gym visits. Health insurance companies gave people points and prizes for being active, so study subjects tended to meticulously record each workout.
Researchers first roughly compared vaccinated and unvaccinated people. (Only Johnson & Johnson vaccines were available at the time.) As expected, unvaccinated people developed covid, and far more severely ill than vaccinated people. .
But John Patricios, a professor of clinical medicine and health sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, who oversaw the new study, said that even among fully vaccinated people, exercise was associated with COVID-19. He said it made a big difference in the outcome of viral infections.
People who were vaccinated and did moderate exercise, such as walking, for at least 150 minutes a week were almost three times more likely to be hospitalized if they contracted the novel coronavirus than people who were vaccinated but sedentary. lower.
More specifically, their vaccine provided about 25% better protection than the same shot in sedentary people.
Patricios said the exercise habits of these people met or exceeded standard exercise guidelines promoted by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, even those who were vaccinated and exercised for just one hour each week were 1.4 times less likely to be hospitalized than the sedentary vaccinated group, and were more likely to benefit from the vaccine than those who did not exercise. suggested to be approximately 12% higher. .
“It was important for people to do something even if they didn’t meet the full guidelines,” Patricios said. “It’s a concept called ‘a small step, a strong shield.'”
If you can’t attend a 30-minute walk today, a 10-minute walk is better than skipping exercise altogether, he said.
However, this study is relevant and shows an association between activity and COVID outcomes. And the effect is great, says Patricios.
He also believes this relationship holds true for exercise and other coronavirus vaccines, such as Moderna and Pfizer’s versions, for people who don’t live in Johannesburg.
It is still somewhat unclear how habitual activity enhances vaccine responses. But Patricios suspects exercisers’ beefy immune systems will spawn additional battalions of coronavirus with each vaccination. Lifestyle can also affect responses, such as people’s diet and income.
Perhaps most reassuring is that it’s “never too late” to start exercising. Inactive? A walk today should start preparing your immune system to be more zealous for your next vaccination or exposure to COVID-19. “Plus, you don’t need a prescription and it’s free,” he noted.
Have a fitness question? e-mail YourMove@washpost.com I may answer your question in a future column.
