Air Pollution
By Connie Varner, Fri Dec 9th

THE EFFECTS OF AIR Studies have shown that adults inthe nation's most polluted cities - even cities that meet EPAair quality standards - are 15% to 17% more likely to dieprematurely than those in cities with the cleanest air (Source:Dockery, et al., Harvard School of Public Health, 1995).

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS? It is recognized that because of theirphysiology, children are at greater risk than adults are fromboth short- and long-term illness from breathing noxious air.

a.. Children consume more oxygen than adults to maintain bodywarmth. An infant consumes three times as much air per pound ofbody weight as an adult - that means three times more pollutantper pound of body weight! b.. Children are more likely tobreathe faster through their mouths. Breathing through the nosefilters out as much as 90% of some pollutants before they reachthe lung. c.. Children, especially those under 10, are moresensitive to damage because their lungs are still developing.

THE RESULTS: a.. Children receive more concentrated doses ofpollutants that they are less equipped to handle than adultsare. Computer models show that children can receive

three tofour times as many deposits as adults. b.. In theshort term, high levels of air have been linked tohigher incidence of respiratory tract infections, such as coldsand croup, and asthma - which jumped 58% among six to elevenyear olds in the 1970s. Children living in particle smog hotspots suffer more chronic bronchitis and school absences due tochest colds and pneumonia. c.. Research into the long-termeffects of kids' growing up under brown skies is underway andstill incomplete, but what we do know is not good. Children maybe suffering from air long before the damage isobvious. A University of Southern California Study released in1990 compared children from Houston and Southern California. theresults: children in California's South Coast Air Basin suffereda 10% to 15% loss in lung function compared with Houstonchildren. In essence, these kids' lungs are aging prematurely,and they are running out of lung. When these kids get to be 20to 25, the natural trend is for lung capacity and flexibility togo down. A lower lung capacity when the downward curve beginssuggests deleterious effects on health in later years.

About the author:A Certified Nutrition Advisor, consulting in most areas ofwellness.

http://thewellnesshut.com/air-filters.php