Is physical activity a necessary element during Italian coronavirus disease emergency? Yes or no debate

Abstract

From December 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 virus rapidly spreads in more than 200 countries in the world and WHO declared an epidemic public health emergency. In Italy, the Coronavirus disease caused 239.410 total infected cases and 34.644 people have died. Specific recommendations, as reducing social contacts and scrupulous hand hygiene, were adopted to limit the spread of the disease, affecting the daily habits of tens of millions of people. This gave rise to two different currents of thought: on the one hand those who always believed that the practice of physical activity represented an important preventive factor, on the other that it was necessary to stop physical activity because is a dangerous activity. The aim of this short paper is to discuss a correct approach to physical activity and exercise and to underline the beneficial effects, precautions, and limitations, providing a contribution that clarifies these different points of view in debate. Regular practice of physical activity and moderate exercise is useful for asymptomatic healthy people and therefore recommended by the major scientific societies, according to established scientific evidence available to date.