Just 20 minutes of a exercise a day could help reduce the risk of flu
Exercising for just 20 minutes a day could cut your risk of catching the flu, says new research.
The findings suggest that at least 100 cases of flu per 1,000 people could be prevented just by increasing the intensity of exercise.
But one of the most important factors was in fact the intensity of the exercise; moderate exercise appears to have little effect on rates of flu-like illness.
The figures come from Flusurvey, the online flu study run by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine based on 4,800 participants.
Dr Alma Adler, ambassador for National Science & Engineering Week and Research Fellow at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine told the Mail Online: “We’re really interested in the preliminary findings around fitness activity and flu-like illness, as exercise is something that everyone can do to reduce your chance of having flu.
“We need to treat this result cautiously as these are preliminary findings, however they are consistent with findings for other conditions and really show the health benefits of exercise.
“Although many people have dodged the flu bullet this winter, flu can occur at any time, so taking advantage of the better weather is a great opportunity to get out and get fit to ward off flu this spring.”
People in the UK are advised to do 75 of high intensity workouts like sport, running or aerobics every week.
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