Indoor Air Quality
Air Quality and Physical Activity: What You Need to Know
Poor air quality can harm your health. When you’re physically active you breathe in more air. That’s why it’s important to reduce the amount of air pollution you breath in when you’re physically active.
Who is Most Affected by Poor Air Quality?
People who have:
- Asthma
- Heart disease
- COPD (a long-term lung disease)
Protect Yourself from Air Pollution during Physical Activity
When air quality is poor, adjust your physical activity routine to avoid breathing in too much air pollution:
- Move your physical activities indoors
- Change your physical activity to something less intense (for example, walking instead of jogging)
- Shorten the amount of time that you’re physically active
If you have asthma, be sure to keep your inhaler with you at all times – especially when you’re outside.
How do I get information about air quality where I live?
Each day, you can find out what the air quality is like by checking the Air Quality Index (AQI) for where you live. The AQI tells you when high levels of air pollution are predicted for the day. You can use that information to plan for safe and healthy physical activity.
- Good
- Moderate
- Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups*
- Unhealthy
- Very Unhealthy