It’s another hot, smoggy day in the city and you’re desperate for a run.Yet every time you read the news or listen to the radio, there’s some health expert telling you about the dangers of mixing exercise and air pollution on a hot, muggy day.
The problem - as those same health experts will tell you — is that exercise is crucial to your well-being.
While this contradiction may not have been a big deal before the days of frequent smog and heat alerts, it’s becoming a real headache for the health-conscious and for high-level athletes.
World-class Canadian triathlete Lisa Bentley has eleven Ironman wins under her belt, but she didn’t get there by avoiding exercise on hot, smoggy days.
“Training is my career, it’s my job, it’s what I do, and I have to go to work every day. So if I go to work in the smog, I go to work in the smog.
“I love what I do too much to let the poor air quality keep me back from it …Unfortunately I will take the risks that go with that,” Bentley said.
But public health officials worry that heat and smog alerts, while designed to protect the public, may inadvertently discourage others who should be more active. Read more…
According to Peter Hadzipetros