Cold water swimming should be introduced as a public health measure

Outdoor swimming helps reduce inflammation, which is linked to health issues ranging from heart disease to depression. It should be widely adopted as a public health measure, says Mark Harper

By Mark Harper

THE popularity of outdoor swimming has been growing at such a rate, I am starting to worry I will run out of cold-water-naive participants for my studies on its health benefits. Perhaps there won’t be a need to carry out further studies because everyone will be doing it anyway. But, in the meantime, there is good reason to consider why the provision of outdoor swimming should be a public health measure.

There is a strong physiological basis underpinning the many positive health effects of outdoor swimming. These benefits largely come from a reduction in excess inflammation through repeated immersion …