Active children may boost lung health well into adulthood, new research suggests

Recent studies indicate that increased physical activity in childhood not only enhances fitness but could also lead to better lung function later in life, with potential implications for preventing chronic respiratory diseases.

Keeping children active may do more than improve their fitness in the moment: it could also help their lungs work better later in life. Researchers who tracked more than 1,000 people in New Zealand and more than 1,300 in Denmark found that children who were more physically active tended to have stronger lung function as they grew older, with higher childhood fitness linked to greater lung capacity in adolescence and early adulthood.

Bob Hancox of the University of Otago in New Zealand, who led the research, said the findings suggest that active children are more likely to have better lung function later on and may face a lower risk of chronic lung disease as adults. Chronic respiratory illnesses, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, remain among the world’s leading causes of poor health.

The data showed a clear pattern: the more active children were, the better their lungs tended to perform later in life. The association appeared stronger in boys than in girls. In the New Zealand group, fitness and lung function were measured at ages 15, 26, 32 and 38; in Denmark, similar testing took place at ages 9, 15, 21 and 29.

The broader research picture is more mixed, however. A systematic review indexed in PubMed found inconsistent evidence on whether physical activity changes the long-term risk of asthma or affects lung function in young people. At the same time, a newer review and meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Pediatrics reported that exercise can improve lung function and quality of life in children with asthma, supporting its inclusion in asthma care plans. Other studies have also found that physically active schoolchildren tend to have stronger lung function, and that vigorous exercise may help lung growth, although pollution exposure can alter that benefit.