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Study: Exercising Outside on Hot, Hazy Days Can Be Hazardous

Aired July 30, 2002 - 11:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Exercise is supposed to be good for your health. But a new study says that exercising outside on hot, hazy days can actually be hazardous for some people. We are paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta to find out more about that. He is joining us live from New York.

Sanjay, good morning.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

All have you to do is look outside and see the haze. You certainly see it in Atlanta, and see it here in New York as well. And when you see that, you know the air is filled with all sorts of particles. Not surprisingly, those particles are bad for your breathing. That is easy to figure out. But it's also bad for your heart. Specifically now, a study has examined 45 people with heart disease and found that breathing in these particles over time causes significant strain on the heart, something called ischemia, not enough oxygenated blood, not enough oxygen in the blood, actually getting to the heart, and that can cause problems.

Sometimes the participants in the study don't even know they are having problems, and later on down the line, it can be very significant. In fact, three times as more likely to have some sort of heart ischemic event people who have heart disease, as compared to people that don't have heart disease. Also, 44 percent higher risk of heart attack in someone with existing heart disease, if they're exercising outside, even just within two hours afterward, and that was from a previous study.

So some significant problems with all that haze, Daryn.

KAGAN: Is there just some level of the air quality or a combination with the temperature that, you know, not a good idea to be out there exercising?

GUPTA: There are certainly these alert days as we have heard so much. And alert days, it's a bad idea for anybody to be outside exercising, certainly people with heart disease and people without heart disease. But what we find out is people with heart disease should probably try to stay indoors even more often. One option going to an air-conditioned mall. Air-conditioned malls do tend to be a lot safer environment in terms of low particles, lot less strain on the heart. Overall, a lot better exercise for the people with heart disease specifically. But, Daryn, some of these particles are hard to measure in the air. So expected cities like Atlanta, New York, L.A., have high concentrations. What some of these experts found as well in cities like Seattle, Minneapolis, cities that typically are thought to be clean air cities also had higher concentrations. So really pay attention to those alerts.

If you see one, it is probably a good idea to stay indoors, both for your breathing and for your heart.

KAGAN: So with the mall thing, you're actually supposed to go and exercise at the mall. It doesn't mean you have to choose between jogging and shopping that day.

GUPTA: Walking in those big places, just walk around, air- conditioned and pretty safe.

KAGAN: I can make that choice. No jog, go shopping. I can see that there is another item to ask you about, one of my main food groups being ice cream. There is news about Ben and Jerry's.

GUPTA: That's right, you eat it for breakfast, right, Daryn?

KAGAN: And I'm OK with that, I really am.

GUPTA: Well, some people are taking aim at the beloved Ben and Jerry's, no question. Ben and Jerry's, as you know, markets itself, touts itself as an all natural ice cream, and that's one of their big marketing campaigns. An organization calls CSPI, Committee for Science and the Public Interest, takes issues with that. They say there is actually four ingredients that Ben and Jerry's uses often that aren't -- quote, unquote - -- "natural." They are hydrogenated soybean oil. We might have a list there. Corn syrup, corn syrup solids, and alkalized cocoa powder. And supposedly, all four of these food groups are not natural.

Now, the definition of natural is sort of a subjective thing. We have talked to various people about that. The FDA says natural is really defined as something that is neither artificial nor synthetic.

The CSPI, the group that's taken issue with Ben and Jerry's says natural is better defined as something that doesn't have any chemical additives to it, that's part of the original food group.

Either way, you know, there is some issue whether Ben and Jerry's is completely all natural.

KAGAN: I'll tell you what, it'll take more than that information to get me off of Cherry Garcia and Heath Bar Crunch.

GUPTA: That's correct. I'm not so sure that people who are eating it are very concerned.

KAGAN: I'm not thinking about it when I go into that pint.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta in New York, thank you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

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