Why walking is good for you... even in smog

The health benefits of activity outweigh the harm caused by the chemicals and dust pumped out by traffic and industry.

The health benefits of activity outweigh the harm caused by the chemicals and dust pumped out by traffic and industry.

Published Jun 1, 2016

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London - Walking or cycling are good for you even in polluted cities, scientists have found.

The health benefits of activity outweigh the harm caused by the chemicals and dust pumped out by traffic and industry.

Air pollution is a major problem in British cities, and is estimated to contribute towards 40 000 early deaths every year.

People who exercise in polluted areas are thought to put themselves at increased risk because the physical activity makes them take deeper breaths, forcing them to inhale more toxic particles.

But researchers say exercising offsets this risk because activity reduces the odds of contracting diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and several cancers.

Experts at the Centre for Diet and Activity Research – a collaboration between the universities of Cambridge and East Anglia – used computer simulations to compare the risks and benefits of exercising in polluted areas around the world.

Only one percent of cities are so polluted that the risks overcome the benefits of physical activity after half an hour of cycling, including ten in India, three in Pakistan and one in Bangladesh, Doha, Qatar and Turkey.

Writing in the journal Preventive Medicine, study leader Dr Marko Tainio, of the University of Cambridge, said: “In London, the health benefits of active travel always outweigh the risk from pollution.

“Even in Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world – with pollution levels ten times those in London – people would need to cycle over five hours per week before the pollution risks outweigh the health benefits.”

Daily Mail

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