BEJING: According to a study published on Monday, it is suggested that regular exercise, even performed in areas with polluted air, may lower the risk of death from natural causes, The researchers wanted to understand the effects of regular exercise and long-term exposure to fine particle matter on the risk of death from natural causes.

Their research, published in Canadian Medical Association Journal, included 384,130 adults in Taiwan who were followed for over 15 years from 2001 to 2016. The researchers found that a high level of habitual exercise and a low level of exposure to air pollution was associated with lower risk of death from natural causes. In contrast, a low level of habitual exercise and a high level of exposure was associated with higher risk of death, according to the researchers.  “Habitual exercise reduces the risk of death regardless of exposure to air pollution, and air pollution generally increases the risk of death regardless of habitual exercise,” said Xiang Qian Lao, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “Thus, habitual exercise should be promoted as a health improvement strategy, even for people residing in relatively polluted areas,” Lao said.

The research adds to several other smaller studies conducted in the US, Denmark and Hong Kong which found that regular exercise, even in polluted areas, is beneficial. “Further studies in areas with more severe air pollution are required to examine the applicability of our findings,” the authors wrote in the study.

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