commonly known to be predictably
injurious to the body.”
In summary, Professor Hedley
says Hong Kong’s air “is not fit to
breathe”.
And for children, the picture is
even more worrisome. Exposure to
chronically high levels of air pollution
early in a child’s development has a
lasting, irreversible impact on several
biological systems such as the brain,
the lungs and the immune system –
meaning even just a few years in the
city can impact your child’s health.
Is it worse for kids?
Children are still growing. Their
bodily systems are immature in
comparison to adults: they have
less efficient detoxification systems,
developing lungs that are more
permeable by pollutants, and weaker
immune systems that render them less
able to handle toxic air pollutants.
“Given the fact they’re in a very
rapid growth phase, this means that
the growing cells, tissues and organs
are more readily influenced by certain
types of pollution,” explains Professor
Hedley.
Adjusting for body mass index,
children have a higher respiratory
minute volume – the volume of gas
Summer 2014
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