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Diet, Exercise Could Bring Sickness During Winter

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Jan 6, 2009 7:36 pm US/Mountain

Diet, Exercise Could Bring Sickness During Winter

Reporting
Dr. Dave Hnida
DENVER (CBS4) ― It's the season many people resolve to lose those extra pounds, but a new study suggests winter is the worst time of year to go on a diet.

"There are lots of germs out there right now and dieting weakens your immune system and you are more likely to get sick," CBS4 Medical Editor Dr Dave Hnida said. "And I can tell you from what I've seen in the clinics, (there are) lots of respiratory and stomach bugs out there right now."

The research is in the American Journal of Nutrition. It finds when people go on diets, they make fewer infection fighting cells. And the ones that are made don't work quite as well.

"So go on a diet, come in contact with a germ, and odds are that germ is going to win and you will get sick," Hnida said.

January is an extra bad time because of the combination of a lot of dieting and a lot of germs.

It's not simply dieting that can weaken immunity; it's also jumping into exercise a little too vigorously. Instead of easing into a program, some folks start out with intense exercise every day. That not only hurts their muscles, tendons and ligaments, but weakens immune function just like with dieting.

"Don't limit calories too much. In this study even those folks who ate a well-balanced diet and took vitamins had immune system problems," Hnida said.

Hnida said most recommendations say go with no less than 1,100 to 1,500 calories a day. He says exercise maybe 24 to 45 minutes a day -- every other day.

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