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According to scientists and doctors, exercise boosts your immune system and can help ward off common colds and possibly even the flu.

“There is evidence that moderate exercise or physical activity can be beneficial in terms of reducing the incidence and severity of upper respiratory tract infections from all causes,” says Jeffrey Woods, a professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “And at least one report … has shown that exercise may be protective against influenza-associated [deaths] in the elderly.”


The key is not to overdo it. Moderate exercise has been shown to provide protection from respiratory illnesses like the common cold and the flu, while intense exercise (marathon training for example) may actually make the body more susceptible to illness (at least in the short term). According to a study of 547 people who were followed for a year, the people who got moderate exercise were one quarter less likely to get sick than the sedentary group.

Of course, there's still a chance, no matter how fit or healthy you are, that you could contract the flu or the swine flu. Health officials are urging the public to get vaccinated for protection.

But Michael Flynn, chair of the department of health and human performance at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, agrees that exercise seems to boost your odds of staying healthy. “The evidence seems pretty strong that folks who are moderately physically active have a somewhat higher level of protection,” he says.

So, bottom line: exercise is not only good for what ails you, but physical fitness may prevent what ails you from ailing you in the first place.

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