By Charlotte Webster
Researchers from Glasgow University (GCU) have recommended over two hours of exercise a week to cut the risk of dying from Covid-19 infection by more than a third, according new study has found.
The academics found that engaging in 150 minutes a week of physical activity that gets you slightly out of breath can have a massive impact on immunity.
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Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) conducted a full-scale systematic review of 16,698 worldwide epidemiological studies published between January 1980 and April 2020 with world-renowned immunologists and epidemiologists from other institutions.
The researches said exercise can reduce fatalities by 37 per cent, the danger of even catching similar diseases by 31 per cent and boost the effectiveness of vaccines by up to 40 per cent.
The findings from the research should be an encouragement to members of the public who don’t exercise much. 150 hours is exactly two and a half hours, which is not a lot of time altogether, and therefore not too demanding on even the busiest of people. Personal trainers generally recommend more exercise than that for individuals committed to healthy living.
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Professor Sebastien Chastin, who led the study, said going for a walk is ‘just as effective” as going to the gym.
“You don’t need to go to a gym, as dancing around the living room, going for a run or walk is just as effective”, he said.
“In this period of pandemic being outside is better than in a gym or closed environment.
“The clear message is ‘stay active’ – it’s not only good for your mental and general health, but we now have the proof that it is also good for boosting your immunity.
Prof Chastin, a specialist in health behaviour dynamics at GCU, added that physical activity “strengthens the first line of defence of the human immune system and a higher concentration of immune cells” in the world’s first study into the link between exercise and Covid-19 immunity.
The research has been published in the Sports Medicine journal and findings have already gone to the Scottish Government and other governments around the world as well as public health experts and healthcare professionals.
Chatin added: “the first piece of research that proves regular physical activity protects you against infectious disease”.
“We found that regular exercise where you get out of breath boosts your immunity to infectious disease by 31% and it increases the number of immune cells in the body in the first line of defence which is the mucosal layer of antibodies.
“The clear message is stay active – it’s not only good for your mental and general health but we now have the proof that it is also good for boosting your immunity.”
It has to be a regular commitment, he said, with the added benefit that “if you add physical activity to your vaccination programme it increases the potency of the vaccination”
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