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Exercise
helps Obese Children with Asthma
Asthma
occurs when the main airways in your child's lungs — called the bronchial
tubes — become inflamed and swollen. The muscles of the bronchial
walls tighten, and extra mucus is produced. Airflow out of your child's
lungs is diminished, often causing wheezing, difficulty breathing,
tightness in the chest and coughing.
SAN DIEGO (Reuters Health) -- Children who have asthma or who are
obese, or both, report a better sense of well-being and show improved
fitness after 2 months in a guided exercise program combined with
"rap groups" and lifestyle education.
After 8 weeks of biweekly 40-minute workouts, children aged 10 to
15 showed significant gains in flexibility, strength and aerobic fitness,
according to study results described at the American Academy of Allergy,
Asthma and Immunology annual meeting. The children's lung function
remained unchanged.
"Kids with asthma or who are overweight can really effect a change
in how they look and feel," said James B. Sgritto, an exercise physiologist
with Pfizer Inc. in New York. He devised the program, which he calls
"The Eagle's Circle," with Pfizer's ongoing financing.
The study did not ask whether children continued to exercise months
or years after their 8-week Eagle's Circle experience. But Sgritto
said anecdotal reports suggest that children continue to incorporate
exercise into their lives by doing such things as hauling the neighbor's
groceries upstairs, or getting off the school bus two stops early.
"These are the same kids who were getting notes from their parents
about taking the elevators, and saying that they didn't have to take
gym," Sgritto said.
After their workouts, the children sat in a circle for a 20-minute
"rap session," which included discussion of coping with asthma and
obesity, and listening to coming of age stories, many of them of Native
American origin.
"The eagle in Native American culture is considered a sacred bird,"
Sgritto explained. "Eagles fly in circles, higher and higher. It's
a metaphor for a group of kids to get together, a power symbol for
kids who feel powerless."
The study involved 119 children from 14 Eagle's Circle sites, mostly
urban hospitals. Fitness was measured with a 3-minute heart rate stair
step test, strength by abdominal curls and modified pushups, and flexibility
with sit and reach stretches. Activities included careful warm-ups
and cool downs to help prevent asthma attacks, as well as martial
arts, weight lifting, and step aerobics.
The researchers noted that the children participating in the program
did not experience worsening of their asthma, and there were no complications
as a result of participating in the program.
Reference
Source 39,52,89
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