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

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Abstract

Children 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, Interrupting 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, and 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% ± 0.9%; non-asthma: 23.8% ± 0.7%; p = 0.02). Out of 294 observations, six instances of asthmatic symptoms (coughing) were observed in students with asthma 5–15 min following the PA break. Symptoms self-resolved within 15-min of the PA break and did not result in sustained exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. Classroom-based interventions that incorporate short intermittent bouts of PA represent safe exercises for children with asthma and may help to reduce PA disparities in this clinical population.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank collaborators from the University of Michigan School of Education, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and Project Healthy schools for their contributions to this project. In addition, the authors are grateful to the principal, teachers, and students for their involvement in this study. The results are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.

Funding

This study was funded by the University of Michigan MCubed Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Lexie R. Beemer, Tiwaloluwa A. Ajibewa & Rebecca E. Hasson

  2. Childhood Disparities Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Lexie R. Beemer, Tiwaloluwa A. Ajibewa & Rebecca E. Hasson

  3. School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Toby C. Lewis & Rebecca E. Hasson

  4. Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Toby C. Lewis & Richard Dopp

  5. College of Education, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

    Andria B.Eisman

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  1. Lexie R. Beemer
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Correspondence to Rebecca E. Hasson.

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Approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the University of Michigan. The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenants of the Declaration of Helsinki.

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This study was considered Exempt Human Research by the Institutional Review Board (HUM00137925) due to the following reason: “research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, involving normal educational practice, such as (i) research on regular and special education instructional strategies or (ii) research on the effectiveness of or the comparison among instructional techniques, curricula, or classroom management methods.” Due to the exempt study status, consent and assent were not required.

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Beemer, L.R., Lewis, T.C., Ajibewa, T.A. et al. Classroom-Based Strategies to Reduce Disparities in Physical Activity Among Children with Asthma. Prev Sci 23, 587–597 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01347-7

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