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Scientists have been encouraging older people to exercise in order to stay healthy, but according to a recent study, air pollution makes this rather pointless. What’s more, another study found that a dirty atmosphere has severe health impacts on unborn babies, which could lead to lifelong complications that could affect their development.
In the first study, researchers looked at the health effects of exercise for people aged 60 years old and up in an urban setting with lots of air pollution. The scientists then compared these participants to subjects who live in areas with cleaner air. As anyone could have predicted, those who exercise in areas with heavy smog don’t get as many health benefits, particularly with regards to their respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
“Short-term exposure to traffic pollution prevents the beneficial cardiopulmonary effects of walking in people with COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], ischaemic heart disease, and those free from chronic cardiopulmonary diseases,” the study reads.
In contrast, those who exercised in regions where air pollution was minimal did experience more health benefits. What really makes these findings serious is that it leaves residents of places with heavy smog with few choices as to how they can improve their health, short of actually moving.
With regards to the second study involving the adverse effects of air pollution on unborn children, the researchers found that it could lead to lower weights when the babies are born. This could then have massive consequences to the development of the children, which would then cause recurring or permanent impairments to their bodies.
Making the situation worse is that many pregnant women really don’t have much of a choice in terms of how they can avoid chronic exposure to pollution in the atmosphere. This means that it’s up to government regulators to look after the health of future generations.
