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From skiing, to ice hockey, to snowboarding, Americans love winter sports. Unfortunately, too many of us just watch them on TV while we stay warm at home, barely lifting a muscle except to sip hot chocolate and munch snacks. Sound like an exaggeration? Not when you consider the statistics on just how sedentary we've become. The office of the Surgeon General reports that four out of 10 Americans are inactive during their leisure time year-round. And with most Americans skipping exercise no matter what the month, it's not surprising that even more of us skip outdoor sports when it's cold.

"People use cold weather as an excuse to exercise even less than usual. But if you are motivated and dress properly, there's no reason not to enjoy winter outdoor activities," says Martin D. Hoffman, M.D., professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Hoffman, who's jogged outside in bitter Wisconsin winters for 20 years, says that an important key to exercising in bone-chilling cold is appropriate dress. "When I started running in the l970s, we only had cotton and nylon. You were either wet from moisture coming in from rain or trapped perspiration ," he explains, "but new fabrics such as polypropylene and polyester meshes keep the cold out, yet wick moisture away from skin."

Cold Caution
Although exercising is important in building and maintaining health, what about those with health issues such as cardiac disease, osteoporosis or asthma? We've all heard stories of people shoveling snow who suddenly expire. Is there something dangerous about icy weather?

Cardiologist Douglas C. Morris, M.D., director of the Emory Heart Center in Atlanta, says that "people who die shoveling snow usually don't exercise on a regular basis and were forced to do something active in order to get out of their driveway." They were persons who were prone to experiencing a heart event in the near future anyway, he adds. Morris notes that "if you are prone to develop angina, you are more likely to have symptoms while exercising in the cold, but cold weather isn't going to cause an atherosclerotic blockage. In fact, regular exercise makes a person less prone to experiencing a 'cold-induced' cardiac event."

As to those with osteoporosis, opting to snuggle up on the couch instead of exercising can be hazardous to health. According to Scott D. Boden, M.D., director of the Emory Spine Clinic and professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine, "the best way to fight osteoporosis is through weight-bearing exercise like jogging or walking on a treadmill three times a week, as well as consuming enough calcium. If you take off from exercising for several months in the winter, inactivity will simply accelerate bone loss. Once you lose it and go back to exercising in the spring, you won't regain the bone you've lost."

The experts have some winter advice for asthmatics as well: cold, dry winter air can make breathing difficult, especially if asthma is not properly controlled. "Normally, the air we breathe is warmed and humidified by our noses. But exercising outdoors causes more hyperventilation through the mouth, so airways get a blast of cold, dry air. That can trigger exercise-induced bronchiospasm [EIB]," says W. Gerald Teague, M.D., professor of Pediatrics and director of the Emory Pediatric Pulmonary Division. Teague advises avoiding exercise outdoors in cold weather if it triggers EIB. "Swimming indoors is a particularly good way for people with asthma to stay fit in the winter," he recommends.

"There's nothing magical about whether you exercise indoors or participate in outdoor sports. The important thing is to find an activity you enjoy and to keep at it," Hoffman concludes.

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