2023-06-16 11:38:05
published
Except vaccinationIt’s that easy to reduce your risk of dying from flu and pneumonia
It is well known that exercise is good for your health. Researchers are now showing that physical activity can significantly reduce the risk of dying from the flu or pneumonia.
- von
- Fee Anabelle Riebeling
The solution is: regular exercise.
Pexels
They have shown that regular cardio and strength training reduces the risk of catching the flu…
Unsplash
Exercise is good for you – and can prolong your life. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 150 minutes per week is ideal, but half as much – namely 75 minutes – reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by 17 percent and the risk of cancer by seven percent. Not to mention the positive effects on the psyche.
A strict sports program is often not even required for the positive effects: Even a simple walk is very beneficial. And the same applies to the consequences for mental health: a lot can be achieved with little.
Experts do not agree on when exercise should best take place. While some report that morning exercise is better than evening exercise, others found that exercise in the evening has a more positive effect on metabolism than exercise in the morning.
Sport leads to a significantly lower risk of death
Researchers led by Bryant J. Webber from the Department of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity of the US CDC are now reporting another positive effect. They have shown that regular cardio and strength training reduces the risk of dying from the flu or pneumonia by 48 percent.
According to their im «British Journal of Sports Medicine» published study, at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic physical activity and two or more days of moderate muscle-strengthening activity per week is ideal. The result is based on data from more than 570,000 people from the US National Health Interview Survey between 1998 and 2018 (see box).
Combination of endurance and weight training is important
According to Webber’s group, following both recommendations almost halved the risk of dying from the flu or pneumonia. After all, those who only train endurance had a 36 percent lower risk of dying as a result of one of the two diseases.
“People may know how important the flu and pneumococcal vaccine is. This study may encourage them that physical activity can be another powerful way to protect against flu and pneumonia,” Cnn.com quoted Webber as saying.
“Move more and sit less”
The researchers emphasize that less exercise than recommended is also good for health: “We could see that any level of aerobic physical activity reduced the risk of flu and pneumonia death compared to no aerobic activity,” explains Webber. According to the study, just ten to 149 minutes of endurance sports per week result in a 21 percent lower risk of death from the two diseases.
“Our advice for everyone, regardless of age or fitness level, is: ‘Move more and sit less’,” Webber said, according to CNN. According to the doctor Robert Sallis, who was not involved in the study, this could also pay off with regard to other diseases, such as Covid-19: “This study also agrees with the various studies that show that regular exercise reduces the risk of Covid-19-related deaths in a similar way.
No sport if you have an acute infection!
As long as you are ill, you should avoid sport. You should pause training if you have even slight symptoms of infection such as a sore throat, runny nose or cough. If you have aching limbs or fever, physical rest is required and sport is taboo. The body then needs all its energy reserves to fight off the pathogens. Exercising is therefore not a good idea when you have a cold. It can prolong the infection and, in the worst case, cause complications such as potentially fatal heart muscle inflammation. Even after the infection has subsided, you should take it easy. The following applies: the stronger the infection, the longer you should pause.
The study does not clarify what exactly leads to the positive influence. The researchers emphasize that this was an observational study. Therefore, they cannot make statements about the causes or prevention of deaths, only what factors were associated with a given level of risk.
#vaccination #easily #reduce #risk #dying #flu #pneumonia