Cardio exercise can cut risk of dying from flu by over a third

GOING for a run may help to stop you from catching your death of cold, a study suggests.

Scientists from the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention found that regular cardio exercise such as a jog, swim or cycle could lower the risk of dying from influenza infection. Exercise in the gym may help as well.

The NHS advises that adults perform “moderate intensity” exercise for 150 minutes a week, or vigorous activity for 75 minutes a week. Experts also recommend that adults work out twice a week to build up muscle strength.

Walking up the stairs, going for a swim or skipping can be counted as “vigorous” activity, while going to the gym and more strenuous forms of movement also reach the threshold, according to the NHS.

A 20-year study of more than 570,000 people in the US looked at whether those who exercised more regularly were less likely to die from influenza and pneumonia.

Over the study period, 1,516 people died of flu, but those who reached the cardio targets were 36 per cent less likely to succumb to the virus.

People who reached their cardio targets as well as their weightlifting goals were 48 per cent less likely to die of flu, the data showed. However, lifting weights regularly but not doing cardio did not improve the odds compared with someone doing no exercise.

Even exercising below the nationally recommended standards could help reduce a person’s risk of dying from flu or pneumonia, the scientists said.

The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that those who did between 10 and 149 minutes of cardio a week had a 21 per cent reduced risk compared with those who did no exercise at all.

But they also found that people who performed muscle-strengthening activities seven times a week, or more, actually had a 41 per cent increased risk.

“Aerobic physical activity, even at quantities below the recommended level, may be associated with lower influenza and pneumonia mortality,” the authors wrote.