If you’ve ever played sports against people who smoke, you might already be
aware of the edge you have when competing against them. The fact is, in addition
to putting themselves at risk for cancer and heart and respiratory diseases,
smokers are simply less fit than non-smokers.
What causes smokers to be less fit than non-smokers?
To achieve peak performance, your heart and lungs need oxygen-rich blood.
When you inhale tobacco smoke, you introduce carbon monoxide into your system.
(Carbon monoxide is just one of the 3,000-plus chemicals found in tobacco.) When
carbon monoxide combines with hemoglobin, a substance in the red blood cells
that enables the blood to carry oxygen through the body, the ability to
transport oxygen is reduced. As a result, less oxygen is delivered to your body’s
cells and to your heart and lungs.
This decrease in oxygen will reduce your physical endurance, making it more
difficult for you not only to do well in sports but also to do everyday things,
such as walking up stairs.
What are some other effects of smoking on physical fitness?
A number of physical endurance studies have shown that that smokers reach
exhaustion before non-smokers do and can’t run as far or as fast as
non-smokers. Additional results noted that smokers:
- Obtained less benefit from physical training
- Had less muscular strength and flexibility
- Experienced disturbed sleep patterns
- Suffered from shortness of breath almost three times as often
as non-smokers
Smoking also affects your bones and joints, putting you at increased risk for
developing the following conditions:
- Osteoporosis
- Hip fractures
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Low back pain
- Exercise-related injuries, such as
o bursitis
o tendonitis
o sprains
o fractures
Does smoking affect the physical performance of teens and pre-teens?
Young people who smoke experience the same negative effects of tobacco that
adult smokers do. This includes not only lower physical endurance and
performance compared to their non-smoking peers, but also shortness of breath,
increased sports-related injuries, and poorer overall health.
Smoking among teens and pre-teens can also slow down their lung growth,
impair lung function, and cause their hearts to beat faster
than those of non-smokers. In addition, young people who are heavy smokers
experience coughing, and more frequent and severe respiratory illnesses.
Fortunately for both adult and young smokers, many of the effects of smoking
can be reversed if and when they quit smoking.
© Copyright 1995-2008 The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. All rights reserved
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This information is provided by the Cleveland Clinic and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or health care provider. Please consult your health care provider for advice about a specific medical condition. This document was last reviewed on: 9/12/2008...#10643
