How does smoking affect your physical activity? (Smoking and Physical Activity) Let's talk about this!

Do you know how badly smoking affects your physical activity, whether you exercise , run, or jump? Most of the time, we talk about the other negative effects of smoking, but we don't think much about this aspect. So, today we'll talk about this in a little more detail, as if we were telling a friend.

What are the immediate and long-term effects of smoking on the body?

Smoking has both immediate and long-term effects on your body. We all know that smokers are more susceptible to things like cancer, heart disease , and respiratory diseases . However, when it comes to exercise and physical activity, smokers face a whole host of other problems. Simply put:

• Your endurance is greatly reduced.
• Physical performance becomes quite weak.
• The risk of injuries and their complications increases.

Imagine how much these things affect you if you're a sports fan, or just someone who likes to run and jump.

Why are smokers less physically fit? Let's look at it scientifically?

To be at your best, that is, to perform at your peak, your heart, lungs, and muscles need oxygen- rich blood. This is what makes our body work like an engine.

Now, look at what happens when you inhale tobacco smoke. Tobacco smoke contains a poisonous gas called carbon monoxide . This is just one of the more than 4,000 chemicals in tobacco. And think about it, more than 50 of those chemicals have been found to be carcinogenic ! So, this carbon monoxide gas combines with your red blood cells. What happens is that the carbon monoxide takes away the space that the red blood cells have to hold onto oxygen.

As a result, your muscles and other body tissues (`Tissues`) do not receive enough oxygen. This lack of oxygen causes a substance called ` Lactic Acid ` to accumulate in the body. When this lactic acid builds up, it:

• My muscles feel like they're burning.
• Feeling tired instantly.
• The breathing rate has increased and it feels like it's getting harder to breathe.
• Muscle pain increases after exercise.

This lack of oxygen reduces your physical endurance. This means that you have difficulty performing at sports. Even everyday tasks, such as climbing stairs, become tiring. In addition, if you are a smoker, your resting heart rate is higher than that of a non-smoker. This is because your heart has to work harder to provide the body with the oxygen it needs due to the lack of oxygen.

What other effects does smoking have on physical fitness?

Studies have found that smokers get tired more quickly than non-smokers. They also can't run as far or as fast as non-smokers. Other studies have found that:

• For smokersThe benefits of physical training are minimal. It's like filling a water container with a hole.
• Their muscles have less strength and flexibility .
• Sleep patterns may be disrupted , meaning you may not be able to sleep properly.
• Smokers are three times more likely to experience breathing difficulties than non-smokers.
• Smokers are twice as likely to be injured as nonsmokers. Even a small fall can result in a serious injury.
• When you get an injury , it takes a long time to heal , and sometimes it doesn't heal properly.

It affects not only the lungs, but also the bones!

Many people think that smoking only causes inflammation in the lungs. But that's not entirely true. Smoking also directly affects your bones and joints. This puts you at a much higher risk of developing conditions like:

• • Osteoporosis : This is a disease in which the bones become thin and easily breakable.
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis : This is a painful disease that causes inflammation of the joints.

• Low Back Pain .
• Exercise-related injuries: Examples of these include bursitis ( inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs around joints), tendinitis ( inflammation of the muscle tendons), sprains, and fractures .
• If surgery is performed, even in an emergency, there is a high risk of complications .
• When injured, their healing rate is greatly reduced .

Imagine how detrimental this situation would be if you were an athlete. Even a minor injury can have a big impact on your sporting career.

"I smoke to lose weight" – is this true?

Some people, especially young people, continue to smoke because they believe that smoking will help them lose weight. You may have heard stories like, “Smoking will make you lose weight, which will make you feel better.” However, the truth is quite different.

Smoking actually affects your body's metabolism. That is, it disrupts the process by which the food you eat is converted into energy. In addition, smokers are often less physically active. Studies have found that male smokers eat between 350 and 575 more calories per day than non-smokers!

Not only that, but smokers tend to store fat in the abdominal or central area, similar to an "apple-shaped distribution." This type of fat around the abdomen is very unhealthy. It can lead to diseases like heart disease and diabetes.

So, remember, the best way to maintain a healthy weight is to eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly. Smoking is not the solution.

How does smoking affect young people?

We've talked about the harmful effects of smoking on adults. The sad thing is, all of these bad effects are the same, and perhaps even worse, for teens and preteens who smoke.

• They have less physical endurance and activity than other children their age who do not smoke.
• Difficulty breathing occurs.
• The risk of injury increases when playing sports.
• Overall health is deteriorating .

In addition, if you smoke at a young age, that is, when your body is still developing, serious things like this can happen:

• Their lung growth may be slow .
• Lung function may be impaired .
• The heart may start beating faster than non-smokers.

Young people who smoke a lot are more likely to have coughs, more frequent and severe respiratory illnesses, more frequent injuries, and a longer recovery time from injuries. This is really damaging to their future.