Exercise, soak up the sun to stay fit this UAE winter

Dubai - 'In general, children and adults who exercise and are active are less likely to develop respiratory tract infections.'

You know winter is here when you notice an increase in the incidence of respiratory tract infections around you. Cold, cough, bronchitis etc are the most commonly found ailments people are down with during this time of the year.
Dr Alia Rafie, Family Medicine Consultant and Head of Al Barsha Primary Health Centre, said: " Winter months are also known to cause an increase in the number of cases of depression and anxiety particularly in countries that experience cold climate and have lack of sunshine during winter. "In the UAE, we have plenty of sunshine and we also have a strong family culture so we do not see rise in such cases; here, the increase is mainly in the number of respiratory tract infections."
"Since children are more vulnerable to such ailments, parents should ensure children get adequate sleep, eat healthy foods and they should limit food with too much sugar and unhealthy fats because such food lowers the immunity.
"Children can be given a general multivitamin after consultation with the paediatrician. Parents should ensure children have adequate vitamin D levels and if not, they should be given a supplement because vitamin D is important to build immunity. For Vitamin C, its best to stick to natural sources such a lemon, oranges, kiwi and other healthy foods. Parents should also check the iron levels of children who get recurrent colds because they may be anaemic."
Ali Al Rahma, Health Educator in DHA's Primary Healthcare Sector, added that parents should not send their sick children to school. They should ensure that the child is fever free for 24 hours and he has fully recovered from cold and cough before sending him to school.
Exercise boosts immunity
Rafie added that in general, children and adults who exercise and are active are less likely to develop respiratory tract infections .
"Children and teenagers should exercise or play for at least an hour per day and adults should exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes, five times a week. Those with medical conditions should seek the opinion of their doctors before exercising."
She said studies have found that people who exercised on five or more days a week had a much lower chance of developing respiratory tract infections compared with those who did little exercise.
Regular exercise also reduces the severity of respiratory tract infections.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai