After it was claimed that gyms are places prone to infection in Corona, a new survey found that only a few of the trainees contracted the virus during exercise
"Survey does not support claim that sports clubs are a place of corona transfer"
Photo:
Yossi Zeliger
A study found that sports clubs and gyms were not a place to transfer the corona: only half a percent of trainees (43 people) were infected in the corona, and only about one-tenth of those infected reported being infected in the gym (only 3).
A Holmes Place survey of 8,283 trainees shows that the corona changed the exercise habits of 70% of trainees: more than a quarter of them (28%) stopped exercising, and 65% exercised less than before the plague. At the same time, more than half of the respondents (56%) reported a change in weight, 18.6% lost weight, averaging 4.5 kg, while 36.8% reported a weight gain of 3.6 kg on average. 73% believe that the change in their body weight was due to a change in the amount of exercise. A tenth of the respondents reported that they smoked (865 people), about half of the average smoking rate in Israel, of which 12.7% reduced the amount of smoking, but 30.6% increased the amount of smoking.
Photo: Yoni Rickner
In total, 43 respondents (0.52%) reported having contracted coronary heart disease, 3 of whom were infected at the fitness club, 29 were infected elsewhere and 9 do not know where they were infected. 24 of the patients (56%) underwent an epidemiological investigation, 16 patients did not undergo an investigation and 3 did not respond if they underwent an investigation.
The average age of the respondents was 46. These are relatively active people who reported engaging in physical activity for an average of 4.3 hours per week. Most respondents (67%) work out in the gym, one-fifth in the studio and 8% swim in the pool.
The survey was conducted by Prof. Racheli Dankner, an expert in public health and sports medicine and a senior researcher at the Gartner Research Institute, and Pnina Marom, a health promoter at Reut Rehabilitation Hospital in Tel Aviv.
• The gyms are opening, meanwhile
Black mark: Gyms do not understand why they are included in the restrictions
• Eight were infected in Corona at a gym in Jerusalem
Prof. Dankner believes that in light of the findings, the closure of gyms should be avoided: "The survey does not support the claim that sports clubs are a place of transmission of coronary heart disease.
Dr. Raz Hagoel, specialist doctor and director of the Medical Center for the Treatment of Obesity: "Weight gain is part of the corona damage, but right now it could be an opportunity to create change. We are witnessing more and more people seeking multidisciplinary medical care to treat the problem. "