Study finds that cardio workout can help lower the risk of pneumonia death

People who indulge in brisk walking swimming running and stair climbing can have significantly lower risk of death from flu or pneumonia even at weekly levels below those recommended suggests a researchHowever the findings published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed there may be a level above which the effects plateau or in the case of muscle strengthening activities become potentially harmfulAdults are advised to clock up at least 150 minutesweek of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity or an equivalent combination plus muscle strengthening activity of moderate or greater intensity at least twice a weekMuscle strengthening activities include the use of weights and resistance bands exercises such as squats lunges and pressups callisthenics and heavy gardeningIn the study people who met both recommended weekly physical activity targets had nearly half 48 per cent the risk of dying from flu or pneumonia as their peers who met neither after accounting for potentially influential factorsMeeting only the aerobic activity target was associated with a 36 per cent lower risk after accounting for potentially influential factors while meeting only the muscle strengthening target wasnt associated with any significant difference in riskAlthough 10150 minutesweek is often labelled insufficient because it falls below the recommended duration it may confer health benefits relative to physical inactivity suggest researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDCThe team drew responses from 577909 adults who had taken part in a national survey between 1998 and 2018During an average monitoring period of nine years 81431 participants died 1516 of these deaths were attributed to flu and pneumoniaPeople who clocked up 10149 150300 and 301600 minutesweek of aerobic physical activity were associated with respectively 21 per cent 41 per cent and 50 per cent lower risks compared with none But no additional benefit was seen above 600 weekly minutesWhen it came to musclestrengthening activities compared with fewer than two weekly sessions meeting the weekly target of two was associated with a 47 per cent lower risk but seven or more sessions were associated with a 41 per cent higher riskThis is an observational study and as such cant establish the cause added to which the researchers acknowledge various limitations For example the study relied on personal recall and at one point in timeNevertheless the researchers said Efforts to reduce influenza and pneumonia mortality among adults might focus on decreasing the prevalence of aerobic inactivity and increasing the prevalence of achieving two episodesweek of musclestrengthening activityAlso Read Blue light from smart screens can cause harm to your skinThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever