If probability holds true this fall and winter, Carolyn Batten isn't going to be joining the ranks of Americans immobilized by the common cold.
It's been about six years since the Sports Barn East's personal training manager had a seasonal sickness -- the flu -- that kept her away from the gym. She's had some "itchy throats" in that time, she said, but she has worked through those and they quickly go away.
"There are times in my life in the past that I would have known that itchy throat meant, 'Darn I'm getting sick,'" she said. "But now I don't. That's where I think the level of fitness and the boost in immune system comes in."
In her 50s, Batten typically works out on her own at least five times a week, while also exercising with individual clients and group classes. The fact that she exercises regularly and rarely gets sick is "not a coincidence," she said.
"I think my body is stronger and able to fight," she said.
A new study -- consisting of 1,002 subjects, ranging from 18 to 85 years old, and completed by researchers from Appalachian State University and the University of North Carolina -- validates Batten's hypothesis.
It shows that those who work out five or more days a week suffer 43 percent less days of upper respiratory tract infections -- typically a phrase interchangeable with the common cold -- than those who were "largely sedentary."
"The most powerful lifestyle weapon that each of us has ... is being physically active," said David Neiman, a human performance professor at Appalachian State and the study's lead researcher.
Neiman said that there are other factors that could help combat sickness this winter -- including low mental stress, healthy eating and being older (because the body has built up immunities). Still, he said, exercise tends to trump all other factors.
"Everything is multi-factorial," he said. "But, at least in this study, we showed activity is a powerful weapon [in preventing sickness]."
Local physicians echoed the study's findings.
"There are numerous compelling reasons to exercise year round," said Dr. Stephen Adams, with Erlanger's UT Family Practice, "and improved immune system function is just one of the benefits."
Parkridge's Dr. Akberet Hadgu said that regular exercise generally "favorably impacts multiple systems and health outcomes."
Hadgu cautioned that if you're going to exercise outside this winter, bundle up, stay hydrated and avoid extreme cold.
Cold weather and little free time may be two things that could discourage people from working out this winter, Neiman said, but the benefits are too abundant to overlook.
"Exercise is like a pill -- it's like medicine," he said. "If this thing could be captured into one pill, people would probably pay $100 a pill."