London, United Kingdom, July 18, 2019
Regular exercise has many benefits for those who have asthma, including the improvement of lung function and immune response. However, in 40–90% of children, exercise can result in induced bronchospasm.1 The consequences of this are not only physical but can also have an impact on the confidence of the child when participating in sport. In the newest edition of EMJ Allergy and Immunology, published today, results are presented from a study that compared Reflex Ridge active video game (AVG), played using an Xbox 360 KinectTM, to the standard cardiopulmonary test (CPET).
The study involved 30 children, with a mean age of 7.86±1.9 years, who did not practice regular physical activity. Over the course of 2 days, the children took part in a CPET and a 30-minute AVG playing session to investigate the active intensity of the AVG. Even though initially developed by Xbox for an entertainment purpose, because of the involvement of both the upper and lower limbs, Reflex Ridge was selected to be the game involved in the study. The promising results from the study left the authors concluding that the Reflex Ridge game should be used as a pulmonary rehabilitation tool, and that AVG should be advocated as an option for physical activity to try and motivate asthmatic children to be active rather than adopting a sedentary lifestyle.
Ozturk et al. also provide an insight into asthma, but more specifically allergic asthma. This literature review highlights different patient groups and allergic asthma phenotypes; furthermore, in addition to triggering factors, the authors discuss current treatments that are most appropriate for each of these disease presentations.
References
- Wanrooj VHM et al. Exercise training in children with asthma: A systematic review. Br J Sports Med. 2013;48(13):1-10.
Notes to Editors
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If you would like more information about this publication, please call Stacey Rivers at +44 (0) 1245 334450, or email [email protected].
