Working out doesn’t only give you the summer-body you always wanted, it could also help prevent severe COVID-19 symptoms after an infection if you’re vaccinated, according to a new study.
The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, suggests that COVID-19 vaccinations are more effective in those that have elevated levels of physical activity.
Jon Patricios, a co-author of the study, spoke with CNBC about its findings, saying that the “higher the dose of exercise, the greater the protective effect, obviously to an extent.”
The study found that those who completed at least two and a half hours of physical activity every week, with a heart rate between 70% or 79% of their maximum heart rate, were 2.8 times less likely to have severe COVID-19 outcomes.
This meant that vaccines in those exercising this much were 25% more effective in protecting them from extreme cases of COVID-19.
In the next group the study examined, those who exercised from 60 to 149 minutes a week were 1.4 times less likely to have a serious infection.
To come to its conclusion, researchers collected data from the biggest health insurer in South Africa. In total, there were 200,000 vaccinated adults included in the data. When the study was conducted only Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was available, it noted.
It also included COVID-19 PCR test results from February to October 2021. Heart rates, minutes of physical activity, and step counts were tracked through each person using a wearable device.
“We had another study which showed that in people who contracted Covid – and those were unvaccinated individuals – those who engaged in the recommended 150 minutes a week of exercise had better outcomes,” Patricios told CNBC.
He continued saying they were “admitted to hospitals less” while fewer of them “were in the ICU and on respirators and fewer of them died.”
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