Stay active to stay cold-free: a recent study found that you can ward off the sniffles with a little exercise - Fitness - Brief Article

YOU KNOW EXERCISE KEEPS YOU FIT AND helps prevent chronic disease. Now new research shows it can also cut your chances of getting a cold. Researchers monitored the activity levels of 547 men and women, ages 40 to 50, for a year and found that those who exercised moderately (including walking, biking, and doing household activities like mopping the floor and raking leaves) for 60 to 90 minutes a day had a 25 percent lower risk of catching a cold than those who sat around.

Researchers aren't sure exactly why regular moderate exercise fights off the cold virus. But this finding is consistent with other research that suggests an active lifestyle improves immune function, says Charles Matthews, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., and the study's lead researcher.

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