Classroom-Based Strategies to Reduce Disparities in Physical Activity Among Children with Asthma

AbstractChildren with asthma often experience physical activity (PA) induced symptoms 5 –15 min following the start of exercise. Classroom PA breaks provide short intermittent bouts of PA and may represent a novel strategy to safely promote PA participation in this clinical population. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of a classroom-based PA intervention, I nterrupting Prolonged Sitting with Activity (InPACT), where teachers implement 5 × 4-min moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) breaks throughout the school day. Nine classrooms at one elementary-middle school in Detroit, MI (student demographics: 79% Hispanic; 80% on free/reduced lunch; 31% prevalence of asthma and asthma-like symptoms) participated in this 20-week intervention. Asthma status was self-reported via the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Video Questionnaire in conjunction with nurse documentation. PA participation, exercise intensity, a nd asthmatic symptom occurrence were assessed via direct observation. Students accumulated approximately 17 min of activity per day during PA breaks. Compared to students without asthma, a higher percentage of students with asthma participated in MVPA (asthma: 52.9% ± 1.2%; non-asthma: 46.2%  ± 0.8%;p = 0.01), a lower percentage participated in light PA (asthma: 25.9% ± 1.0%; non-asthma: 30.1% ± 0.7%;p = 0.01), and sedentary time during activity breaks (asthma: 21.2% ± 0....
Source: Prevention Science - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research