In a gym, body emissions during exercise combine with cleaning products to form a new potentially toxic chemical cocktail.
- In gyms, human emissions chemically combine with cleaning products to form new airborne substances.
A person who sweats and runs out of breath while exercising in a gym emits as many chemicals as five sedentary people, according to a new study from the University of Colorado. These human emissions, like amino acids from sweat or acetone from breath, chemically combine with cleaning products to form new airborne substances. A combination potentially toxic to health.
Capture broadcasts in real time
In 2018, the research team equipped a weight room with air sampling equipment. “Thanks to our state-of-the-art equipment, this is the first time that indoor air analysis of a gymnasium has been carried out with such a level of sophistication. We were able to capture the emissions in real time to see exactly how many chemicals the athletes were emitting, and at what rate”, details Demetrios Pagonis, co-author of the research.
“Humans are a significant source of indoor emissions,” explains Zachary Finewax, researcher at CIRES and director of the study. “And chemicals in indoor air, whether they come from our bodies or from cleaning fluids, don’t just disappear: they linger and travel through spaces like gyms, reacting with d ‘other artificial substances’, he continues. Do not hesitate to combine the gym with outdoor activity, even in winter.
150 to 300 minutes of moderate exercise per week
As recently recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), you need 30 to 40 minutes of physical activity a day to compensate for the negative health effects of sitting. The WHO recommends, in addition, to do 150 to 300 minutes of moderate sport or at least 75 to 100 minutes of intense physical activity per week. The authority also emphasizes the importance of muscle strengthening which should, ideally, be the subject of at least two weekly sessions.
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