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. 2025 Apr 23;25(1):1497.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22748-7.

The association between healthy walking and COVID-19 symptom severity: A cross-sectional study on the first peak following China's prevention policy change

Wanyuan Xia  1 , Daikun Zheng  1 , Xiaomin Chen  2 , Liliang Yu  1 , Xiujuan Jiang  1 , Mingyue Fan  1 , Haifang Zou  3 , ChangFeng Li  1 , Min Liu  1 , Yan Zhao  4 , Jiming Kang  5
Affiliations

The association between healthy walking and COVID-19 symptom severity: A cross-sectional study on the first peak following China's prevention policy change

Wanyuan Xia et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Healthy walking is a moderate aerobic exercise with a step frequency of more than 100 steps per minute. This study aims to assess the impact of Healthy Walking, a novel form of physical activity, on the severity and course of COVID-19 among patients aged from 18 to 65 years old.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1,128 adult participants who completed the questionnaire after recovering from the first wave of COVID-19 infections following China`s modification of its prevention policy. The survey questions included their health status when suffering from COVID-19, basic sociodemographic data, and medical history concerning chronic conditions and lifestyle. A multiple logistic regression model and linear regression model were used to evaluate the dependent variable that reflects the severity of COVID-19 infection.

Results: Among the 1,128 adult participants, the mean age was 39.93 ± 10.18 (IQR: 31.75-48), and 407 (36.08%) were male. Participants who walked up to 300 min per week had a negative association with COVID-19 (OR: 0.562, 95% CI: 0.41-0.863). Receiving three vaccine doses was negatively associated with severe COVID-19 (OR: 0.289, 95% CI:0.092-0.742) compared with receiving only one dose. Females (OR: 1.935, 95% CI:1.475-2.540) had a positive association with severe COVID-19, also a high incidence of co-habitatants was also positively associated (OR: 2.741, 95% CI:1.284-5.881) In the linear model assessing risk factor affecting the course of COVID-19, habitual Healthy Walking ([Formula: see text] =-0.433, [Formula: see text]=0.004) was linked to a reduced disease duration after adjusting all significant risk factors.

Conclusions: Regular Healthy Walking may help alleviate symptoms and speed up recovery. Therefore, incorporating walking into other physical exercise may reduce COVID-19 symptom severity and speed up COVID-19 recovery.

Keywords: Exercise; Healthy walking; Physical activity; SARS-COV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Three Gorges Medical College (Approval number: SYYZ-H-2301-0001). All participants voluntarily participated, and informed consent was obtained from all subjects and/or their legal guardian(s) prior to questionnaire administration. All methods and procedures followed in this study were in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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