RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Asthma can, direct or indirect cause physical limitations in asthmatic patients affecting their quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To identify factors that influence and limit the physical activities in asthmatic children and teenagers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a descriptive and observational study in 83 asthmatic children and teenagers, between 6 to 18 years old, who attended a summer camp for asthmatic patients. They answered a questionnaire about the kind of physical activities that they regularly, in order to identify factors that limit their physical activities. In the camp, some of them had to stop exercising because of an asthma crisis. For the statistical analysis, we used central and percentage tendency. RESULTS: Sixty patients (72.3%) regularly practiced some kind of sport being the most frequent soccer (36.7%), swimming (20.1%), athletics (8.4%) and basketball (8.4%). Of the 23 children and teenagers that did not regularly practice any sport, 19 of them were between 5 to 10 years old. In the first group, 28 (46.7%) said that they had to stop exercising when suffered an asthma crisis. In the camp, eight children (9.7%) had to stop their physical activities because an asthma crisis. Only 47 children (56.6%) knew the kind of physical activity in which they could participate and the correct way to perform it; as a result of an educational process. CONCLUSION: In our community, the development of asthma crisis and the lack of adequate physical education are facts that limit exercise practicing in asthmatic children and teenagers.
