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Why are children more vulnerable to air pollution?
Children breathe more times per minute than an adult. A child breathes about 20 to 30 times per minute while at rest; an adult breathes about 15 times per minute when resting.
Children inhale more pollutants per pound of body weight.
Children are exposed to more air pollution because they spend more time outdoors during high pollution times, playing, walking to and from school.
Children tend to breathe through their mouths, bypassing the filtering system in the nose.
Children's immune systems and lungs are still developing, which makes them more susceptible to the ill effects of pollution.
Children's airways are narrower than adults', which makes it more likely that inflammation caused by an irritant such as air pollution will obstruct the airways.
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