Chinese and international media are abuzz with information on air pollution impacts on the health of athletes. Reports show that with every breath, athletes typically take in 10 to 20 times as much air, and thus pollutants, as sedentary people do. A 2004 review of pollution studies worldwide conducted by the University of Brisbane, Australia, found that during exercise, low concentrations of pollutants caused lung damage similar to that caused by high concentrations in people not working out.

A study carried out in the US by scientists, led by the University of Southern California and reported in Lancet, has found that in high-ozone areas the relative risk of developing asthma in children playing three or more sports was more compared to children playing no sports.