Increased Physical Activity Tied to Asthma in Children
Man, it sure is “debunk preventative medicine” day! Once again we have an article that suggests that an activity previously thought of as a good thing may have some negative aspects. Something to remember before you run out to stop your child from playing hard…high levels of physical activity will increase metabolism and increase the demand for antioxidants. With today’s child eating a diet very low in certain antioxidants, an increase in activity is a prescription for chronic disease… 57th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Overall, 9.1% of white children and 12.5% of black children had asthma diagnoses. The researchers found that yearly physical activity was significantly higher in asthmatic than non-asthmatic children. Multivariate analysis adjusting for race, gender, birth weight, body mass index, percent body fat, and physical activity revealed that only physical activity was significantly related to the prevalence of asthma. However, separate analysis for each race failed to identify a significant association in black children. “There has been concern brewing about the increasing prevalence of asthma in children in this country,” Dr. Ownby noted in an interview with Reuters Health. One theory, he said, “had been that because children weren’t playing as hard as they used to, they weren’t expanding their lungs as much and thus they were at a higher risk of developing asthma.” However, “we found just the opposite was true,” he said. Dr. Ownby’s team used metabolic equivalents (mets) to quantify the various levels of physical activity. One met was equal to sitting quietly. Standardizing physical activity “allowed us to compare judo class with soccer practice or ballet,” Dr. Ownby explained. “I think this study will stir up some controversy because several people have been preaching [the conventional wisdom] based on pretty shaky data or data extrapolated from other countries,” Dr. Ownby noted. “As far as we know, our study is one of the most detailed studies investigating this issue in the United States.” Dr. Ownby believes that a “diagnostic bias” may explain the current findings. “The children who are more physically active may be more likely to have the symptoms of asthma and therefore be more likely to get diagnosed,” he said.