SAN DIEGO, Mar 06 (Reuters Health) -- Children who have asthma or who are
obese, or both, report a better sense of well-being and show improved fitness
after 2 months in a guided exercise program combined with "rap groups" and
lifestyle education.
After 8 weeks of biweekly 40-minute workouts, children aged 10 to 15 showed
significant gains in flexibility, strength and aerobic fitness, according to
study results described at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and
Immunology annual meeting. The children's lung function remained unchanged.
"Kids with asthma or who are overweight can really effect a change in how
they look and feel," said James B. Sgritto, an exercise physiologist with Pfizer
Inc. in New York. He devised the program, which he calls "The Eagle's Circle,"
with Pfizer's ongoing financing.
The study did not ask whether children continued to exercise months or years
after their 8-week Eagle's Circle experience. But Sgritto said anecdotal reports
suggest that children continue to incorporate exercise into their lives by doing
such things as hauling the neighbor's groceries upstairs, or getting off the
school bus two stops early.
"These are the same kids who were getting notes from their parents about
taking the elevators, and saying that they didn't have to take gym," Sgritto
said.
After their workouts, the children sat in a circle for a 20-minute "rap
session," which included discussion of coping with asthma and obesity, and
listening to coming of age stories, many of them of Native American origin.
"The eagle in Native American culture is considered a sacred bird," Sgritto
explained. "Eagles fly in circles, higher and higher. It's a metaphor for a
group of kids to get together, a power symbol for kids who feel powerless."
The study involved 119 children from 14 Eagle's Circle sites, mostly urban
hospitals. Fitness was measured with a 3-minute heart rate stair step test,
strength by abdominal curls and modified pushups, and flexibility with sit and
reach stretches. Activities included careful warm-ups and cool downs to help
prevent asthma attacks, as well as martial arts, weight lifting, and step
aerobics.
The researchers noted that the children participating in the program did not
experience worsening of their asthma, and there were no complications as a
result of participating in the program.
