Study Finds Doing This Regularly Is Likely To Prevent COVID-19 Hospitalization

Multiple reports have been issued over the past month carefully documenting many of the underlying health issues which make the chances much higher for COVID-19 infected individuals of landing in the hospital, and possibly death. 

Foremost among these is the pervasive American problem of obesity, and the often corresponding disease of diabetes. “Young adults with obesity are more likely to be hospitalized, even if they have no other health problems, studies show,” a New York Times report detailed days ago.

However, in the first weeks and months of the crisis it seems there were few studies and reports advancing the opposite: what are ways and individual might prevent infection or at least greatly mitigate its severity? 

Newsweek reported Friday on new University of Virginia School of Medicine, which found regular exercise is behind healthier immune systems able to withstand and beat the virus. 

Specifically regular exercise is likely to prevent COVID-19 patients from developing severe complications like acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a common cause of death among the infected, the study found. 

“According to the study, between 3 and 17 percent of all COVID-19 patients will develop ARDS, while available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that between 20 and 42 percent of all patients hospitalized with COVID-19 will develop ARDS,” Newsweek reports. Of these about 45 percent of patients who develop severe ARDS will die, according to researchers.

Per the report:

In his research, Yan studied a powerful antioxidant that is released throughout the body when exercising, which showed to help prevent disease, such as ARDS. The antioxidant is known as “extracellular superoxide dismutase” (EcSOD), which is created naturally by our muscles, but Yan’s studies discovered an increase in production when exercising.

“These findings strongly support that enhanced EcSOD expression from skeletal muscle or other tissues/organ, which can be redistributed to lung tissue, could be a viable preventative/therapeutic measures in reducing the risk and severity of ARDS,” Yan’s study says.

“Our findings suggest aerobic exercise is particularly potent in stimulating EcSOD expression,” Zhen Yan, head researcher at the University of Virginia School of Medicine stated to Newsweek. “With that said, weight training helps maintain or even increase muscle mass. More muscle mass will likely lead to more EcSOD production, hence more benefits.” Yan’s team used mice running “about 10 miles/day” as part of the studey.

“Generally speaking, 30 min moderate intensity exercise per day would be enough to have many of the health benefits,” Dr. Yan added.

Further Yan emphasized the following following exercises as producing the most EcSOD in the body:

• Aerobics.
• Weight lifting.
• Running.

“Aerobic exercise can be easily done at home, such as [a] stationary bike, aerobic floor exercise and rowing machines. Of course, canoeing, biking and running outside with strict social distance are good options,” he said.