EXERCISE
Running in the city worsens health and performance: science says so
With the return of the warm weather, many amateur runners want to start training outdoors again, taking advantage of the mild weather and much brighter days. According to some studies, most people in Europe run in big cities, and this is not always a good thing.
In fact, scientific studies have shown how running in the midst of smog and pollution reduces sports performance significantly, as well as causing lung problems because of the amount of air you breathe.
When you have to run, science says, it is best to do it in isolated places, in parks, among pine trees (because of their special qualities). Of course, you run where you can, but always better to move to places away from the city center.
Running in the city worsens health and performance: science says so
With the return of the warm weather, many amateur runners want to start training outdoors again, taking advantage of the mild climate and much brighter days. According to studies, most people in Europe run in big cities, and this is not always a good thing. In fact, scientific studies have shown that running in the midst of smog and pollution reduces sports performance significantly, as well as causing lung problems due to the amount of air one breathes. When you have to run, science says, it is best to do so in isolated places, in parks, among pine trees (because of their special qualities). Of course, you run where you can, but it is always better to run in places away from the city centre.
Attention to the environment around us
Now that warm weather is back, so is the desire to jog in the open air, but care must be taken. Our cities are becoming increasingly polluted, due to transport, factories, lack of rain and climate change in general. This obviously leads to worsening air quality, and consequently causes damage to our health. When we leave the house to go jogging, the quality of the air we breathe is just as crucial as our physical performance. In fact, smog and pollution is really bad for our performance.
Choose places and times well
The first rule is to choose well both where to run and when to run. For example, it is best to avoid rush hour traffic, major city thoroughfares, and even areas with tall buildings, which curb air recycling and create an absolutely tremendous smog blanket for our lungs and beyond.
What happens to our body when we run
The reason for this is physical performance when running. Obviously, we inhale a lot more air than normal during physical activity. Studies have confirmed that running at 70 per cent of one's ceiling causes us to ingest as much air as a sedentary person in two hours. By using mainly the mouth and not the nose, pollutants enter even deeper into the lungs.
What is harmful to our body
Many studies on city running were done in connection with the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when one of the most polluted marathons in history took place. The most harmful substances in the air for our body are carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen dioxide and also sulphur dioxide. It has been studied that these substances cause a drop in sports performance, especially among women.
The 2010 study
A 2010 research study looked over 10 years at the seven major marathons run in the United States. The results showed a large correlation between the presence of PM10 particulate matter and women's performance: for every 10-μg-m-3 increase, performance decreased by 1.4 percent. This analysis, however, stops at marathons, which are usually run in the early morning (when pollution is lower), with usually mild temperature and especially with no cars around. Imagine, then, what might happen in downtown Milan or London.
The study of men's running
The journal Nature published a study conducted on men's running, the relationship between air pollution and the performance of hundreds of male athletes from 46 American universities. The research was conducted in this way: 21 days of training followed by a 5-kilometer race. Here the focus was on the effects of PM2.5 and ozone. In analyzing the data, it was found that exposure to these particles caused the athletes' times to deteriorate between 11.5 and 12.8 seconds.
The latest tips for healthy running
Thus, it has been seen how the presence of pollutants in the atmosphere not only worsens the health of the lungs, but also the chronometer. The main advice is always to run in the midst of nature, among trees, even better among pine trees. These plants in fact produce a resin that contains alpha-pinene, a monoterpene that has the property of reducing anxiety.
metabolism and weight loss