Working out regularly does not only help tone your body and build muscles — but it could also help you avoid catching the common cold according to a recent study.
People who exercise five or more times a week get fewer and less severe colds than those who work out one or fewer times a week, said Dr. David Nieman, researcher and director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Appalachian State University in North Carolina.
“The most powerful weapon someone has during cold season,” Nieman told MyHealthNewsDaily, “is to go out, on a near-daily basis, and put in at least a 30-minute brisk walk.”
Colds are the most common illness to strike any part of the body, with over one billion colds in the United States each year. Nationally, the average adult gets two to four colds a year according to wrongdiagnosis.com.
On record the LSU Student Health Center sees about 16-31 patients a semester for colds. The numbers in the spring semester are less than those in the fall semester.
Aimee Daigle, Primary Care Nurse Practioner at LSU’s Student Health Center agreed. Daigle said exercising is an activity that revs up the immune system. “Exercise is essential to health on all levels because it makes the body stronger and gives it a higher chance of warding off any type of bad symptoms the body recognizes.”
She also added that the stronger the body is the easier it is to ward off ear, throat and sinus infections as well as flu and pneumonia.
Researchers tracked the respiratory health of 1,000 people, ages 18 to 85, for 12 weeks during autumn and winter, and asked them questions about how often they exercised and how fit they felt.
The researchers found that the frequency of colds among people who exercised five or more days a week was up to 46 percent less than those who exercised only one day or less of the week.
Nieman added that the more often a person exercises, the more often their immune cells will be on high-alert for invading pathogens. “It’s the frequency, and getting the cells moving,” he said. “That’s what provides the top-level protection of the body.”
In addition, the number of days people suffered cold symptoms was 41 percent lower among those who were physically active on five or more days of the week, compared to the largely sedentary group. The group that felt the fittest also experienced 34 percent fewer days of cold symptoms than those were felt the least fit.
The research report can be found in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
“For me exercising and working out has become a routine,” James Washington, kinesiology major, said. “I strongly believe that the people who work out, exercise, or play some kind of sport are healthier than those who chose to be couch potatoes.”
Daigle also added that students should exercise or do some form of physical activity multiple times during the week to stay healthy and help the body become strong. “Exercising is not always about looking good but feeling good and being healthy.”
Christiane Sylvester, pre-nursing major, said she notice a big change in her body after she began walking the lake three times a week. “I often fought with sinus and colds throughout the year especially around this time, but last semester after I started walking more and getting pumped it haven’t been so bad.”
Sylvester also added that she hope it stays that way and that students should try being more active if they have the same problem.
 
 
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39958059/ns/health-fitness/
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/recent
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/645242.html
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/c/cold/basics.htm