Beware - Healthy lifestyles do not guarantee protection against COVID-19. Eating healthy and exercising does not guarantee that a person will avoid exposure to COVID-19 infection, although some claim this in several social media posts. There was once a tweet that was first published around June 30, then screenshotted and shared on Instagram.
The post wrote: “The best way to avoid COVID is to exercise, eat healthy, and let your immune system beat it naturally”. However, this has not been proven scientifically and by research. Another example from one of the posts on Facebook. "Covid virus is fake" added one person in the comments.
Although studies have concluded that physical inactivity can lead to more severe COVID-19 outcomes, there is no evidence to suggest that living a healthy lifestyle can curb the serious effects of the disease. “Although being healthy and exercising is good for your immune system, there is no evidence to show that this can guarantee that you will not have problems if you get COVID. In fact, real-world data will provide ample evidence of severe illness, hospitalization, and death in healthy, fit young people," Professor Christine Loscher, an immunologist at Dublin City University (DCU) told Reuters by email.
There is also the potential for long COVID-19 for healthy young individuals. "One thing that is very clear about this virus is that it is impossible to predict what symptoms each individual will experience from infection and how severe the infection will be in each individual," he added.
The National Institute for Health Research in the UK warns: "We have heard strong stories that persistent Covid19 symptoms are experienced by all age groups, from the youngest children to the elderly." “It is safe to say that exercise does not prevent COVID-19 infection or transmission. What the latest research suggests is that consistently meeting physical activity guidelines (between 150-300 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week) is associated with a reduced risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes among infected adults,” Dr Jane Thornton, Canada Research Chair in Injury Prevention & Physical Activity for Health, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Western University, Canada, told Reuters.
“While physical activity and healthy eating are great ways to boost the immune system, athletes and individuals who are physically active can still get COVID-19. Young, healthy people contract COVID-19 and can experience severe outcomes including prolonged symptoms, hospitalization, ICU admissions and death,” she added.
Vaccines remain the “best defense” against contracting the virus, Dr Thornton said.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study released in July 2020 found that 35% of respondents did not return to baseline health after 14 to 21 days after symptoms started, while 20% of previously healthy 18-34 had ongoing symptoms. Meanwhile, a Public Health England (PHE) risk assessment of the Delta variant first published on July 23 suggests there is an increased risk in reinfection with the Delta variant compared to the Alpha variant.
The CDC recommends that those who contracted COVID-19 still be inoculated against the disease. PHE data suggests that both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines are effective at preventing hospitalisation against the Delta variant. “In my opinion, the best way to avoid covid is to get vaccinated and to stick to public health guidelines around hand washing, mask wearing and social distancing,” Loscher said.
“There are only two ways to develop against COVID. One is to be naturally affected and the other is to be vaccinated. Vaccination is the better choice,” Dr Paul Offit, professor of pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia told Reuters.
There is no evidence to suggest that exercising and eating healthily alone can curb severe symptoms of COVID-19 or that exercise should be used as a substitute for a COVID-19 vaccine.