This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Researchers have identified a complex and poorly understood overlap between asthma and obesity. One of the potential explanations for the association between asthma and overweight status among children is the fact that asthma may cause children to become more sedentary than their otherwise healthy peers. The goal for every child with asthma is to maximize quality of life and minimize the extent of burden and functional impairment caused by their chronic illness. All children, regardless of respiratory status, have become more sedentary and less active in recent years, yet this trend appears most pronounced among youth with asthma. Children with asthma may deliberately avoid physical exertion in an attempt to prevent exercise-induced symptoms. Unfortunately, this 'strategy' actually exacerbates, rather than controls asthma, as regular activity is essential for optimal lung health and endurance. Many programs have been developed and implemented to promote physical activity among children across American communities and schools. Some of the most promising interventions have used pedometers to provide feedback to children concerning their physical activity achievements and to enable researchers to objectively monitor activity levels. Unfortunately, the applicability of such programs for children with asthma has never been studied. This project will address this gap in the literature by examining whether specialized physical activity programs are indicated for children with asthma to help promote physical fitness and reduce obesity risk and related complications. This will be accomplished by recruiting 60 children with asthma and 60 otherwise healthy children of the same age, sex, and background to compare their baseline levels of physical activity and their ability to increase activity levels in response to a commonly-used intervention. Baseline activity measurements and the intervention component will involve the use of pedometers to objectively monitor activity. The ability of each group to increase their activity following the intervention will be monitored and compared. Additionally, psychosocial factors related to the ability to modify activity (e.g., perceptions of the risks and benefits of physical activity) will be compared between the groups. Analyses will also be conducted within the asthma group to identify subgroups of children with asthma demonstrating more pronounced difficulty modifying their activity, such as those with severe or poorly controlled asthma. Results from this study will shed light on the role of physical inactivity in the association between asthma and obesity, and will inform the development of future interventions to promote physical fitness and optimize the quality of life among youth with asthma.
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