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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The number of colds women get as they age may depend on how much they exercise.
New research from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle reveals postmenopausal women who exercised regularly for a year had about half the risk of colds compared to those who did not exercise regularly.
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Study investigators looked at 115 overweight and obese, sedentary postmenopausal women. One group exercised moderately for 45 minutes five days a week for a year. The other group went to a 45 minute stretching session once a week.
Results show the cold-fighting effects of moderate exercise seem to increase over time. Overall, those who did not work out had about twice as many colds as those who exercised. But in the last three months of the study, the non-exercisers were three-times more likely to get a cold.
"The enhanced immunity was strongest in the final quarter of the year-long exercise intervention," reports study author Cornelia Ulrich, Ph.D. "This suggests that when it comes to preventing colds, it's really important to stick with exercise long term."
Other research shows too much, exhaustive exercise can increase the risk of colds because it depletes the immune system.
Dr. Ulrich explains the key is moderate physical activity such as 30 minutes to 45 minutes of brisk walking every day. Just a 30-minute walk can increase the levels of leukocytes, which are part of the family of immune cells that fight infection.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: The American Journal of Medicine, 2006;119:937-942
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