As humans were given such a wonderful gift and opportunity to be able to call such a beautiful place our home. In an ever-growing industrial society, one like the world that we live in, one of the most extreme problems we face daily is environmental pollution. It is rather easy to imagine one breathing in all these pollutants that are released from giant smokestacks on a daily basis. Many studies have show adverse effects of aerobic exercise in an area with high levels of air pollution.
This article examined 40 school going boys between the ages of 14 to 16 in two separate zones in West Bengal, India. Each zone had a different pollutant content value known as the ambient air quality. Each participant ran a progressive shuttle run test and VO2 max was then predicted. This first took place in the lower pollution zone and was then replicated seven days later in the high pollution zone.
Results showed significantly lower values in mean VO2 max, RBC count, and hematocrit but significantly higher values in WBC count in the more highly polluted areas.
Das P, Chatterjee P. Original article: Aerobic capacity and hematological response to exercise: A study on school-going regularly exercising boys in two different air pollution zones. Journal Of Exercise Science & Fitness [serial online]. December 1, 2015;13:99-103. Available from: ScienceDirect, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 7, 2016.
EnviPhys 