How did children with asthma respond to six weeks of active play?

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More physical activity may benefit children with asthma, but knowledge is needed about how to encourage them to be active. Researchers piloted a six-week exercise intervention designed as active play, examining attendance, exercise intensity and the children’s perceptions of participation.

Six children with asthma, aged 10–12 years (four boys and two girls), took part in 60 minutes of active play twice a week. The study used a mixed-methods design. The researchers analysed attendance, exercise intensity assessed through heart-rate monitoring during sessions, registration and description of the active play programme, three semistructured focus groups, field observations of five exercise sessions, and tests before and after the intervention.

Average attendance was 90%. During each 60-minute session, children spent a median of 22 minutes (interquartile range: 8 minutes) at an intensity of at least 80% of their maximum heart rate. Median heart rate during sessions was 146 beats per minute (interquartile range: 9; 74% of maximum heart rate). Children reported higher health-related quality of life after the intervention than at baseline. They enjoyed participating and reported no limitations from asthma or serious asthma attacks. They perceived that their asthma and fitness had improved after the programme. Instructors created an inclusive atmosphere with easy-to-master games, fair competition, humour and mutual participation.

The researchers concluded that the active-play pilot had high attendance, relatively high exercise intensity and participant satisfaction; the children perceived improvements in fitness and asthma and reported increased health-related quality of life. They recommended a randomised controlled trial involving children with asthma to evaluate effects on physical activity, fitness, asthma control and health-related quality of life.