Although aerobic exercise would be beneficial for most healthy individuals to engage in to improve their health and fitness level, smokers may have a more difficult time with it. By reducing the amount of oxygen that is available to the body during aerobic activity, smoking reduces your fitness level. The less oxygen available, the more physical performance is affected, making it more difficult for smokers to reach the same fitness level as non-smokers.
Smoking Effects
Studies have shown that non-smokers live longer than smokers and have fewer diseases while they are alive. Smoking has been linked to cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, stroke, aneurysm, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular illnesses. Smoking puts you at higher risk for dying from pneumonia, chronic bronchitis or emphysema. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 151,000 deaths annually, the majority of them from lung cancer. A National Health Survey in Australia found that smokers were more likely to drink and not participate in regular exercise than non-smokers. However, the desire for improved fitness is often a reason some smokers decide to abandon the habit.
Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide inhaled in cigarettes is one of the major offenders of aerobic exercise, mainly by its effect on oxygen. After leaving the lungs, oxygen is carried by the blood to bind with hemoglobin, but when carbon monoxide is present, it binds with hemoglobin, thereby decreasing the level of oxygen in the bloodstream. Higher carbon monoxide levels impair the release of oxygen from the blood into the cells, which affects cells in the heart and other muscles needing a good amount of oxygen. High levels of carbon monoxide can cause psychomotor and visual impairment, negative effects on cognitive skill and distortions of time perception. Energy production and sports performance are also negatively affected by lower levels of oxygen.
Endurance
Smoking reduces physical endurance and improvement in performance and increases fatigue both during and after exercise. People who smoke are less likely to continue in the exercise programs they undertake. One possible reason could be the higher levels of fatigue they experience. Exercise can increase maximal oxygen intake by up to 20 percent, but smoking reduces oxygen intake by up to 10 percent. A study over more than 3,000 navy personnel found smoking to exert a negative effect on physical fitness even in those who are relatively young and fit. Adolescents who smoked for only five days reduced their endurance time by 8 percent, compared to controls who did not smoke.
Aerobics Effects on Smokers
Some studies have shown that intense sessions of aerobic exercise have reduced cravings in smokers. A study by Williams, et al. in an April 2011 electronic edition of "Addictive Behavior" looked at the effect of aerobic exercise during smoking cessation and withdrawal symptoms while trying to quit. Sixty previous female smokers participated in an eight-week program using the nicotine patch and brief baseline counseling. Half the group received three sessions a week of moderate intensity aerobic exercise. The findings indicated a positive response in energy, tiredness and cigarette cravings, opening up the possibility of aerobic exercise as a potential smoking cessation treatment. The results indicate it must take place frequently and consistently over time for the best benefits.
