Association between Physical Activity and Respiratory Diseases in Adolescents: An Age- and Gender-Matched Study

Abstract

The purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to examine the impacts of allergic respiratory diseases on physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviors (SB), and body mass index (BMI) by matching age and gender with those adolescents without allergic respiratory diseases. This present study analyzed data from the 2019 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS). Among 57,303 Korean adolescents who responded to the survey, the study divided adolescents into three different groups (i.e., general, asthma, and allergic rhinitis group). Asthma and allergic rhinitis groups included adolescents who checked on asthma- or allergic rhinitis-related questions as ‘yes’ (n = 259, n = 259), but the general group responded to any diseases-related question as ‘no’ (n = 259). The age and gender of participants among the three groups were matched. The results showed weight and BMI were significantly higher in asthma and allergic rhinitis groups compared to the general group (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). Furthermore, age, asthma, and allergic rhinitis were observed to be strong risk factors for predicting obesity in adolescents (BMI, >25.0 kg/m2). In addition, this study found allergic respiratory diseases strong impacts on BMI levels because adolescents with ongoing asthma, or allergic rhinitis symptoms were more likely to have the inevitability of further weight gain compared to the general adolescents. Therefore, not only national interest in adolescents with allergic respiratory disease is essential, but PA should be encouraged to prevent and alleviate these diseases due to obesity.

Association between Health-Related Physical Fitness and Respiratory Diseases in Adolescents: An Age- and Gender-Matched Study

“…Although anthropometric information such as body weight and BMI were not significantly different between the two groups, average BMI was higher for both boys and girls in the RD group than those in the general group. Our results are consistent with previous studies [ 31 , 45 , 46 ], which serve as an opportunity to empower the results of prior studies. Furthermore, the RD group’s adolescents who showed a high BMI participated in significantly lower MVPA ( p < 0.05) and spent more than 12 h a week sitting down rather than the general group’s adolescents (general: 33.09%; RD: 38.85%).…”

“…Although there is little doubt that the cause of the increased prevalence of RD is multifactorial (i.e., environment, air pollution, and genetics) [ 26 , 27 ], there is a growing body of literature that implicates lifestyle changes, specifically decreased PA and HRPF, as being a strong contributor to the increase in RD [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. As an extension of the aforementioned studies, a recent study conducted by Park and colleagues reported that adolescents with RD participate less in PA and maintain SB longer than those who without RD, and they also have a higher BMI than general adolescents [ 31 ].…”

The association between the dietary inflammatory index and allergic rhinitis: a case–control study

“…Considering the significant role of lifestyle factors in modulating inflammatory responses, it is essential to investigate how modifiable risk factors such as unhealthy dietary practices, lack of physical activity, obesity, and chronic stress can exacerbate the progression of AR ( 7 , 8 ). Among these modifiable factors, diet emerges as a significant adjustable element, offering a potential avenue for the prevention and management of AR through lifestyle modifications.…”