Consistent inactivity more than doubles odds of Covid hospitalisation, study suggests
Odds of death from coronavirus 2.49 times greater compared to people who took 150 minutes of exercise a week, US researchers found
Inactive coronavirus patients are more than twice as likely to die from the disease compared to people who exercise for the recommended 150 minutes a week, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center in California, studied the medical records of nearly 50,000 people who were diagnosed with coronavirus between January and October last year.
They found that being consistently inactive more than doubled the odds of hospitalisation compared with being regularly active.
The study found that patients who were consistently inactive had 1.73 times greater odds of ICU admission than those who were consistently active, and their odds for death were 2.49 times greater.
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PASADENA, Calif. A Kaiser Permanente study of nearly 50,000 people with COVID-19 suggested that regular physical activity provided strong protection from hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and death. Even exercising inconsistently lowered the odds for severe COVID-19 outcomes when compared to people who were not active at all.
The study, led by investigators in Kaiser Permanente Southern California, was published in the
British Journal of Sports Medicine. This is a wake-up call for the importance of healthy lifestyles and especially physical activity, said Robert E. Sallis, MD, a family and sports medicine physician at the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center. Kaiser Permanente s motivation is to keep people healthy, and this study truly shows how important that is during this pandemic and beyond. People who regularly exercise had the best chance of beating COVID-19, while people who were inactive did much worse.
Vaccinations have begun at the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Southern California earlier this week and was distributed to the Fontana Medical Center and other area hospitals by the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the FDA.
The Fontana Medical Center began administering the vaccine to physicians and staff on Dec. 17. Vaccinations also began at the Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center.
Vladimir Aguilar, RN was the first Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center staff member to receive the vaccine.
âIt is safe and gives us hope to combat this virus,â said Aguilar, who works in the ICU. âIt means we are getting a step closer to beating the virus that has been affecting the country for the last 10 months.â