Can exercise lessen the severity of COVID-19?
Credit: CC0 Public Domain  For years, researchers have studied the benefits of exercise in preventing dozens of health conditions. Its a question researchers at Kaiser Permanente asked during the height of the pandemic. From January to October 2020, they studied more than 48,000 adult patients with COVID-19 and linked their level of physical activity pre-COVID-19 to their risk for hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission or death after receiving a COVID-19 diagnosis. The results, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in April, showed people who were consistently active prior to getting COVID-19 ran less of a risk for hospitalization or death. The least active people in the study were hospitalized about 20% more often and were about 30% more likely to die from COVID-19 compared with those who were somewhat active. The exciting thing about this study is how it shows the favorable impact exercise can have on communicable diseases, said Dr. Jessica Butts, who specializes in family medicine and sports medicine. Its clear that staying activeand getting vaccinatedare two steps within your control that will reduce your risk for severe illness related to COVID-19.  Exercises impact on COVID-19 outcomes adds to its proven ability to prevent or lessen the impact of diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, depression, osteoporosis and even dementia. Exercise also helps reduce the risk for breast and colon cancer and increases the life expectancy of those diagnosed. If we could take all the health benefits of exercise and bottle them up, it would literally be the magic pill wed use to treat almost anything, Butts said. Nothing else we can do in medicine can impact so many disease states.  Providers with Penn State Health believe in the power of exercise so much that theyre piloting a Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS). And for how long?) during their pre-appointment assessment. The answers will be kept in each patients electronic medical record. Were the sixth health system in the nation using PAVS, Butts said. Doing so opens the door for us to do more research on how exercise impacts all facets of health.  PAVS is currently being piloted at two practices: Penn State Health Medical Group  Palmyra and Penn State Health Medical Group  Middletown. Adults looking to get the most health benefits from exercise should follow U.S. Department of Health & Human Services guidelines, which recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity each week. Moderate means youre breathing hard but can still carry on a conversation, Butts said. Vigorous means youre working so hard you can barely get a few words out.  May is Exercise is Medicine Month, which means its a great time to get started. Butts recommends people make exercise a priority by scheduling it into their day. A 15-minute walk is a perfect start for almost anyone, she said. People looking for more challenging or different workouts can look toward many options, including free exercise apps and YouTube videos, the Silver Sneakers program (free to all Medicare beneficiaries) or formal classes that teach techniques like yoga and tai-chi. Ask your physician. Nobody will judge you for admitting you dont exercise regularly; in fact, most people dont get enough exercise, Butts said. But if we can increase your exercise level just a little bit, youll start to experience health benefits.  If you care about COVID-19, please read studies about new guidelines for COVID-vaccinated people and findings of people with severe COVID-19 have too much of this stuff in blood. For more information about COVID-19 and your health, please see recent studies about this nutrient supplement may help prevent severe COVID-19, boost recovery and results showing that a common diabetes drug could strongly cut COVID-19 death risk.