Research has found that people who exercise more are less prone to colds.
A 1000 person study found that people who are more active have about half the chance of colds and viruses than people who were not active. It also showed that if the cold is not prevented the severity of it is reduced massively.
Experts have told the British Journal of Sports Medicine that the reduction in suseptablity could be because exercise helps strengthen the immune system to fight off viruses.
However you do not even have to do much exercise at all – those who simply believe they are fit and healthy also seem to have a lower risk of contracting colds and flu.
Adults can expect to suffer 2-5 colds per year. This latest study suggests that there are lifestyle choices that you can do to improve your chances of avoiding them or lowering their severity.
For their study, U.S. researchers asked healthy volunteers to keep track of all coughs and sneezes that were experienced during a period of three months during the autumn and winter. The volunteers were also asked how many times in a week that they did exercise of at least 20 minutes and whether it was intense enough to break a sweat.
They were asked about their lifestyle, diet, and recent stressful events, because they can influence the human immune system. Being older, male and married seemed to reduce the frequency of colds, as did eating plenty of fruit.
But the most significant factor was found to be the amount of exercise that each person did and how physically fit that they beleived themselves to be. Feeling fit and active to reduce the risk of a cold by almost 50%.
People who were physically active on five or more days of the week were unwell with a cold for about five days of the three-month period, compared to nine days for those who did little or no exercise.
And even when they were ill, they suffered less with their symptoms.
The severity of symptoms fell by 41% among those who felt the fittest and by 31% among those who were the most active.
Lead researcher Dr David Nieman and his team, from Appalachian State University in North Carolina, say bouts of exercise spark a temporary rise in immune system cells circulating around the body that can attack foreign invaders.
Although these levels fall back within a few hours, each session is likely to provide an immune boost to fight off infections like the common cold.
Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: “This is yet more evidence for doing exercise. It reflects what we have believed for some time.
“Exercise makes us feel better and now here’s more evidence that it is good for us.”
The common cold
- Common cold infections are so widespread that there can be very few humans who escape infection each year
- Adults with regular contact with children are most exposed to infection
- Cold viruses can be passed from person to person by hand contact or by touching contaminated surfaces such as door handles