According to a new study, women who follow healthy lifestyle habits, such as exercising and embracing a high quality diet, may have a reduced risk of experiencing long Covid symptoms.
According to a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association Internal Medicine on Monday, women who regularly exercise, follow a high-quality diet, get plenty of sleep, and lead an overall healthy lifestyle cut their risk of experiencing long Covid by half when compared to women who don’t follow any healthy lifestyle habits.
Some of the other factors included in the study regard maintaining a healthy body weight, not smoking, and having a moderate alcohol consumption.
Researchers involved in the study analyzed data from over 32,000 female participants who reported on their lifestyle habits in 2015 and 2017, some of which also reported having Covid-19 between April 2020 and November 2021, according to Forbes who reported on the study.
“Among the women who contracted Covid-19 during the study, 44% of them developed long Covid and of those women, the participants who practiced five or six of the healthy lifestyle factors lowered their risk of long Covid by 49%.”
The study found that maintaining a healthy body weight and ensuring you get enough sleep every night were the factors most strongly connected with lowering the risk of long Covid.
The study went on to explain that the correlation between healthy lifestyle habits and a decreased chance of experiencing long Covid is likely due to the fact that individuals with unhealthy lifestyle habits are more susceptible to chronic inflammation and immune dis-regulation in general, which both are linked to an increased risk of long Covid.
Long Covid typically entails fever, fatigue, respiratory problems, heart and neurological symptoms, and digestive issues, all of which can last for months after one contracts Covid. Forbes went on to explain why these findings are so crucial for humanity as we continue to battle the spread of Covid-19.
“With an estimated eight to 23 million Americans suffering from long Covid, the findings of this observational study build on other research that has been done to better understand long Covid.”
Last year, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reported that getting more exercise alone can help reduce the risk of severe Covid-19 symptoms that can lead to hospitalization and death. Patients who exercised on a regular basis were found to have a lower risk of both hospitalization and death within 90 days of a Covid-19 diagnosis.
The British Journal of Medicine also published a study that emphasized the findings regarding exercise and a reduced risk of severe Covid-19 symptoms and ongoing issues associated with long Covid.
Regular exercise in patients showed an 11% lower risk of Covid infection, as well as a 44% lower risk for severe disease.
“With ongoing waves of Covid-19, long Covid has created a serious public health burden. Our findings raise the possibility that adopting more healthy behaviors may reduce the risk of developing long Covid,” said Andrea Robers, a senior author of the study.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
