Physical activity boosts our health and helps us live longer lives. Smog, well, not so much. But what about exercising outdoors in an area with polluted air? Is it healthier to be a couch potato indoors while we save our lungs the exposure to bad air?
Exercising in areas with polluted air, it turns out, is still healthier than being inactive.
That’s according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Researchers tracked health information from 384,000 adults in Taiwan for 15 years and questioned them about their activity levels. Taiwan has some of the worst air pollution on the planet.
Scientists found that habitual outdoor exercise reduces the risk of death from natural causes regardless of air pollution compared with those people who are inactive. That said, no one should think that that smog is good for you. Indeed, the greater the air pollution the higher the risk of death — even if exercise mitigated the danger somewhat.
It’s a tug of war between two things that are always bad for you — pollution and being sedentary. Pollution wins.
Investigators said their findings reinforce the importance of reducing pollution. While it might be easy for many of us to go to the gym and work a treadmill or stationary bicycle — or exercise on a less-trafficked country road — that might not be an option for people of a lower socioeconomic status.
This study is particularly important since more than 90% of the world’s population live in places where air quality does not meet World Health Organization guidelines.
This is yet another lesson about the benefits of exercise even in a challenging environment.