Physical activity (PA) is considered one of the main components of healthy living. In addition to the functions related to the prevention of excess body weight, systemic inflammation and chronic non-communicable diseases, a potential benefit of physical exercise in reducing communicable diseases, including viral pathologies, is suggested (1).
Physical activity x Covid-19
Physical activity can also be a valuable tool for controlling COVID-19 infections and maintaining quality of life (2). Disruption of PA and exercise routines and reducing physical fitness may increase susceptibility to infection and certainly increase some comorbidities associated with poor COVID-19 outcomes if protracted (3).
Covid-19 x Chronic diseases
Ninety-three percent of the people who died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions (4).
Chronic Diseases x Physical activity
The CDC further wrote, “Chronic diseases – such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis – are among the most common, costly, and preventable of all health problems in the U.S.” (5,6). In addition to the CDC, former US Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Honorable Michael O. Leavitt in the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, wrote,
"Along with President Bush, I believe that physical activity should be an essential component of any comprehensive disease prevention and health promotion strategy for Americans. We know that sedentary behavior contributes to a host of chronic diseases, and regular physical activity is an important component of an overall healthy lifestyle. There is strong evidence that physically active people have better health-related physical fitness and are at lower risk of developing many disabling medical conditions than inactive people (5,7)".
Fitness Industry x Healthcare Industry
The former president of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), Robert Sallis, argued further by stating that:
"[W]e must begin to merge the fitness industry with the healthcare industry if we are going to improve world health.… With a wealth of evidence in hand, it is time for organized medicine to join with fitness professionals to ensure that patients around the world take their exercise pill. There is no better way to improve health and longevity. (R. E. Sallis, 2009, p. 4)" (8)
A healthy lifestyle, including physical activity, will not be the solution for the pandemic, nevertheless, it can be a valuable adjuvant acting improving immunity, increasing the Covid-19 vaccine efficacy when it is available and enhancing mental health. Taken together, the PA outcomes might also promote indirect effects such as less overwhelming of health systems by decreasing the number of severe cases, which also would result in significant economic benefits (9).
Author:
Renata Oliveira
BS in Physical Education and Nutrition
National Certified Pilates Teacher/NCPT
Daily Breath Pilates Owner
References:
1. Laddu DR, Lavie CJ, Phillips SA, Arena R. Physical activity for immunity protection: inoculating populations with healthy living medicine in preparation for the next pandemic. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2020.04.006.
2. https://www.exerciseismedicine.org/support_page.php/stories/?b=896, A call to action, physical activity and COVID,19. Access on August 2020
3. Woods JA, Hutchinson NT, Powers SK, et al. The COVID-19 pandemic and physical activity. Sports Medicine and Health Science. 2020;2(2):55-64. doi:10.1016/j.smhs.2020.05.006
4. County of Los Angeles Public Health, News Realease, December 12, 2020, Media Contact: media@ph.lacounty.gov
5. Booth FW, Roberts CK, Laye MJ. Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases. Compr Physiol. 2012;2(2):1143-1211. doi:10.1002/cphy.c110025
6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 2011http://wwwcdcgov/chronicdisease/indexhtm.
7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. 2011http://wwwhealthgov/paguidelines/guidelines/introaspx.
8. Sallis, R. E. (2009). Exercise is medicine and physicians need to prescribe it! British Journal of Sports Medicine, 43(1), 3–4. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.054825
9. Speretta GF, Leite RD. Covid-19: high rates of severity and death in elderly and patients with chronic diseases reinforces the importance of regular physical activity [published online ahead of print, 2020 Jul 26]. Sport Sci Health. 2020;1-2. doi:10.1007/s11332-020-00678-8