A study published in the British Medical Journal (BJM) found that patients with COVID-19 who exercised less than 10 minutes per week had significantly higher rates of hospitalization, severe illness and mortality than patients who exercised.
The study confirmed that “continuous inactivity” is one of the biggest risk factors for severe COVID-19. Results showed that the risk of hospitalization, severe illness and death due to COVID-19 was significantly higher in patients who continued to be immobile than in the other two groups. Compared with patients who met physical activity guidelines, patients who remained inactive were 2.26 times more likely to be hospitalized, 1.73 times more likely to be severely ill, and 2.49 times more likely to die.
The research was conducted by a team at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana, California, USA.