Study: Sneak up on colds with sneakers

A study of post-menopausal women showed women who exercised regularly lowered their chance of catching a cold compared to women who were more inactive, the Washington Post said Friday.

For more than a year, researchers at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center studied 115 post-menopausal women who were overweight or obese. Half were asked to exercise moderately -- such as walking briskly -- for 45 minutes a day five days a week, the Post said. The other half was asked to stretch for 45 minutes once a week.

All participants completed questionnaires every three months to record how many times they experienced allergy attacks, colds and instances of other ailments such as the flu, the Post said.

Researchers said the women who exercised regularly caught fewer colds, and those who only stretched had about three times the risk of getting a cold, the Post said.

Researchers said the findings added to information that long-term, moderate exercise yields positive effects, the Post said. They said more research is needed to confirm the findings.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International