Study: Fitness of former COVID patients aged 45 is similar to 80 year olds

A study of recovered COVID-19 patients, aged 45 on average, finds their physical fitness levels to be similar to 80-year-olds.

The research is conducted by the Beilinson Medical Center in central Israel, in its physiotherapy center, on 30 patients, three months after they were officially cleared of the disease.

In one test, the recovered patients were asked to walk for six minutes. They covered 450 meters in that time, compared to 700 meters on average for their age group. In the second test, they were asked to stand up and sit down repeatedly for 30 seconds. Most managed to do so 14 times in half a minute, compared to an average of 30 for healthy adults their age.

Researchers say the results are similar to the fitness levels of an 80-year-old.

It’s not immediately clear how the trial participants were selected and what their condition was when they were ill with COVID-19.