Recent Study Reveals Role of Daily Walking in Effectively Controlling Moderate and Severe Asthma
A recent medical study conducted by researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil and published in the specialized journal Pulmonology revealed that increasing daily step count and walking regularly represent a natural and simple option that helps patients with moderate to severe asthma control their condition effectively, with results comparable to those of supervised, structured aerobic training.
The study examined the impact of changing daily behavioral patterns compared to traditional exercise. It involved 52 patients aged 18 to 65, all suffering from clinically uncontrolled asthma and leading a sedentary lifestyle lacking physical activity. The research team randomly divided the participants into two main groups for a period of eight weeks, followed by a four-month follow-up period to monitor the sustainability of the results.
The first group engaged in a structured aerobic training program based on using a treadmill twice a week, a regimen requiring specialized equipment and supervision from sports and rehabilitation experts. In contrast, the second group was not required to use any special equipment; instead, they were given simplified behavioral guidelines encouraging them to increase walking in their daily and usual routines, and were provided with smartwatches to track and monitor their step counts.
During the study, researchers precisely measured physical activity levels, asthma control capacity, sleep quality, as well as psychological and physical quality of life, and anxiety and depression levels. The results were highly promising, with scientists observing clear and equal improvement in both groups in their ability to control the disease, and a noticeable reduction in the severity of chronic respiratory symptoms. These benefits extended to psychological aspects, including reduced anxiety and depression levels and improved overall quality of life, with no significant superiority demonstrated for the structured exercise program over simply increasing daily walking.
The subsequent follow-up period confirmed that participants maintained a higher average daily step count than their pre-study levels, which explains the continuation of health benefits in the long term. Based on these findings and previous research by the same team, scientists concluded that reaching a rate of 7,500 steps per day constitutes the optimal threshold associated with achieving effective clinical control of asthma and preventing attacks.
Despite these significant positive results regarding walking, researchers emphasized that this behavioral and physical activity is a highly supportive complementary treatment and should never replace prescribed medication, bronchodilators, or preventive inhalers prescribed by doctors, but rather should go hand in hand with them to achieve the best possible respiratory care.
