A New Study Found Another Way To Improve Asthma Control — No Gym Required
If you have asthma, you may know the frustrating feeling of wanting to be more active but wondering whether exercise will leave you short of breath.
That can make the idea of a structured workout feel like one more thing to manage, especially if your asthma isn't well controlled. But regular movement is still important for overall health, and researchers are looking at ways to make it more accessible for people with asthma.
In a recent randomized trial1, researchers compared a traditional treadmill program with a different approach focused on everyday activity. The results suggest you may have more options than you think.
About the study
The researchers enrolled 52 physically inactive adults with moderate-to-severe, uncontrolled asthma and randomly assigned them to one of two eight-week programs.
One group completed supervised treadmill workouts twice a week for 45 minutes. The workout intensity was based on an exercise test, so participants had a structured plan to follow.
The other group worked with a health professional once a week for up to 90 minutes. Instead of formal workouts, they focused on moving more throughout the day and spending less time sitting.
Participants wore a wrist activity monitor that reminded them to move after 60 minutes of inactivity and helped them track a daily step goal. They reviewed their activity each week and adjusted their goals as needed.
Participants continued taking their prescribed asthma medication during the trial. Most were women (88%), and many were overweight or living with obesity.
They also had an average of three other health conditions, as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Both groups saw meaningful improvements
After eight weeks, both groups had improved their asthma control enough to meet the researchers' threshold for a clinically meaningful change. Those improvements were still present when participants were assessed 16 weeks later.
In the everyday-movement group, 88% of participants reached that threshold after eight weeks, compared with 78% in the treadmill group.
At follow-up, the numbers were 64% and 63%, respectively. The difference between the groups wasn't statistically significant, meaning the researchers couldn't conclude that one approach was better than the other.
Quality of life improved in both groups, too, while symptoms of anxiety and depression decreased.
The participants also became more active in different ways.
Average daily steps in the everyday-movement group increased from 5,185 to 7,848. In the treadmill group, average walking speed increased from 4.4 to 6.1 kilometers per hour.
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Rethinking what exercise can look like with asthma
The study doesn't suggest that treadmill workouts aren't useful. Instead, it points to another way of approaching physical activity when a formal exercise routine doesn't feel realistic.
For some people, the easiest way to become more active may be to look at the movement already woven into the day.
Walking to run an errand, taking the stairs, getting up between tasks, or taking a quick lap around the house during a phone call can all create more opportunities to move.
That may be especially helpful for people who have avoided exercise because of concerns about their symptoms or simply haven't found a routine they can stick with.
Participants in both groups reported fewer barriers to being active, and those improvements continued through the follow-up period.
How to add more movement to your day
If you have asthma and want to become more active, start by talking with your health care provider about what makes sense for your symptoms and current fitness level. From there, a few simple strategies can help:
- Break up sitting: Take a short walk after meals, park farther away, or walk around while you're on the phone.
- Try short walks: A five-minute walk each hour can help interrupt long stretches of sitting.
- Set a movement goal: A daily step target gives you something concrete to work toward without requiring a full workout.
- Use a reminder: An inactivity alert on your watch can give you a nudge when you've been sitting for a while.
The takeaway
For people with moderate-to-severe asthma, a formal workout isn't the only way to become more active.
This study found that an everyday-movement program improved asthma control about as well as supervised treadmill training, giving patients another option to discuss with their health care provider.
