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Abstract
Objective
The purpose of this pilot study was to examine potential differences in motor competence (MC) and physical activity (PA) between children with and without asthma.
Methods
Thirty-seven children and adolescents completed the Exercises for a Healthy Asthma Lifestyle and Enjoyment study (46% with asthma, 51% female, 11.1 ± 0.4 years, and 46% White). Motor competence was assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2nd edition (MABC-2). PA was assessed using accelerometry.
Results
Children with asthma had significantly lower MC in the domain of aiming and catching (with asthma: 8.2 ± 0.4 vs. without asthma: 9.9 ± 0.5; p = 0.03) and fewer daily minutes spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (with asthma: 18.0 ± 2.3 min vs. without asthma: 27.2 ± 3.6 min; p = 0.047). There were no significant group differences in manual dexterity, balance, total MABC-2 score, or total daily PA (all ps > 0.05).
Conclusions
This study provides confirmatory evidence that children with asthma display lower MC and spend less time in MVPA compared to children without asthma. Because MC is a prerequisite for engaging in PA, future research should seek to determine if the differences observed in MC contribute to disparities in MVPA observed in this clinical population.
Keywords:
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Exercises for Healthy Asthma Lifestyle and Enjoyment (ExHALE) study team and the University of Michigan Consulting for Statistics, Computing and Analytics Research. We are also grateful for our study participants and their families for their involvement. The results of this study are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.
Disclosure statement
The authors have nothing to disclose.