Exercise Can Ward Off Colds

Want to avoid colds this winter?  Head to the gym. The Scientific American reports that researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
found that post-menopausal women who worked out regularly had
about half the risk of colds as those who did not exercise. The study involved 115 overweight, post-menopausal women
who had not been exercising before the trial. Sciam reports that the group was divided in two, with half the women told to do moderate physical activity
such as walking on a treadmill, cycling on a stationary bicycle
or rapid walking outside for 45 minutes a day, fiive days a week. The other half were told to take part in
once-weekly, 45-minute stretching sessions. Over the course of a year, Sciam reports, the women filled out
questionnaires every three months to report the number of times
they had allergies, colds or other problems. The study found that over 12 months, the risk of colds
decreased modestly in exercisers and increased modestly in the
group of stretchers. The researchers found that the ability of moderate exercise
to ward off colds seemed to increase over time. During the last three months of the study, the women who were only
stretching were three times as likely to catch a cold as those
who were exercising regularly.
Read more in the Scientific American.