The More Exercise, the Better the COVID-19 Outcomes

Dr. Deborah Young, director of the Division of Behavioral Research for the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation discusses the findings of a study published by the “American Journal of Preventive Medicine,” which found that increased levels of physical activity are associated with less severe COVID-19 outcomes regardless of risk factors such as excess weight, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension.

Dr. Deborah Young is the director of the Division of Behavioral Research for the Department of Research & Evaluation. She is a recognized scholar in the conduct of community-based physical activity intervention trials for both adolescents and adults. She is particularly interested in interventions that reduce the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Much of her work has been conducted in populations with high racial and ethnic diversity. She has also been a co-investigator for several behavior change trials of diet and physical activity in adult populations.

She is also a professor in the Department of Health Systems Science of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.

Dr. Young has served on multiple committees of the American Health Association Lifestyle and Metabolic Health Council and the American College of Sports Medicine. She has been appointed to numerous National Institutes of Health scientific grant review committees and was a standing member and chair of the Community Level Health Promotion study section.