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OBJECTIVES. The purpose of this work was to identify barriers to physical activity in children with asthma and to compare their customary activity levels, BMI and emotional well-being with that of children with other medical conditions. It was hypothesized that children with asthma would have higher BMI and lower levels of customary activity. PATIENTS AND METHODS. We studied children aged 7 to 14 years attending hospital outpatient clinics for either asthma (asthma group: n = 56) or for otorhinolaryngology or dermatological conditions (nonasthma group: n = 61). In this crosssectional survey, children's weight and height were recorded and their BMI classified according to International Obesity Task Force classification of obesity. Child mental health was assessed by the parent-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The child-rated Physical Activity Questionnaire assessed total sedentary and physical activities during the previous 24 hours. RESULTS. The asthma group had a higher mean BMI (20.78 vs 18.82) and higher rates of obesity (21.4% vs 6.6%). Children with asthma reported fewer physical activities than the nonasthma group (median 4 per day vs 6 per day) but comparable levels of sedentary activities. Asthma was the strongest predictor of lower activity scores, followed by younger age. The asthma group had higher levels of emotional difficulties and, within this group, more active children had better mental health. More parents in the asthma group identified the child's health as a barrier to exercise (60.7% vs 11%). The same was true of children (66.1% vs 11.5%). CONCLUSIONS. We found that children attending a hospital clinic for asthma were more likely to be obese and were significantly less active than a comparison group with other medical conditions. Asthma was identified as a barrier to exercise by parents and children. Strategies to promote exercise within pediatric asthma care are needed to protect both mental and physical health. Key Words asthma, obesity, exercise, psychological impact, child, EXERCISE IS A common trigger for asthma in children, (1) but the consequence of this for exercise patterns has been poorly researched. A Norwegian survey of children aged 7 to [...]

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact and acceptability of an educational multimedia program designed to promote self-management skills in children with asthma. METHODS. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial with measures at baseline and 1- and 6-month follow-up. The trial was conducted in pediatric outpatient respiratory clinics in 3 United Kingdom hospitals. Participants included 101 children aged 7 to 14 years under the care of hospital-based asthma services. The children were randomly assigned to receive an asthma information booklet alone or the booklet plus The Asthma Files, an interactive CD-ROM for children with asthma. Asthma knowledge was the primary outcome measure. Other measures included asthma locus of control, lung function, use of oral steroids, and school absence. RESULTS. At the 1-month follow-up (n = 99), children in the computer group had improved knowledge compared with the control group and a more internal locus of control. There were no differences in objective lung-function measures, hospitalizations, or oral steroid use. The study participants were positive in their evaluation of the intervention. At the 6-month follow-up (n = 90), significantly fewer children in the intervention group had required oral steroids and had had time off school for asthma in the previous 6 months. The difference did not reach statistical significance in the intention-to-treat analysis for both steroid use and school absence. CONCLUSION. The Asthma Files was found to be an effective and popular health education tool for promoting asthma self-management skills within pediatric care. Key Words asthma, self-management, multimedia Abbreviations GP--general practitioner AKA--Asthma Knowledge Assessment CALOC--Children's Asthma Locus of Control Cl--confidence interval FE[V.sub.1]--forced expiratory volume in the first second PEF--peak expiratory flow BPVS--British Picture Vocabulary Scale ANOVA--analysis of variance df--degrees of freedom OR--odds ratio, THE WORLD HEALTH Organization estimates that asthma affects 150 million people worldwide, (1) and it is particularly prevalent in children and adolescents. (2,3) The estimated cost of childhood asthma in […]

We read with interest the recent report from Glazebrook et al. (1) They found a high prevalence of obesity (21.4%) in their population of outpatients with asthma and that asthma [...]