By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many children with asthma may spend too much time in front of the TV and computer -- especially when breathing symptoms limit their physical activity, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among 224 asthmatic children in one urban area, three quarters had more than 2 hours of "screen time" per day -- which is beyond what experts recommend for children.

This was particularly true of children whose asthma symptoms sometimes caused them to have to "slow down" and curb their normal activities.

Those children spent an average of 3.5 hours in front of the TV or computer each day, based on parents' reports. That compared with 2.5 hours among children whose asthma caused fewer limitations.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents limit children's total screen time -- TV shows, video games and computer use

-- to no more than 2 hours per day.

"It's a little more difficult to limit screen time when children are having these activity limitations" due to asthma symptoms, said lead researcher Kelly M. Conn, of the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York.

If asthma flare-ups are a problem, she told Reuters Health, parents should talk to their child's doctor about what to do. Attacks of wheezing and breathlessness can be prevented -- often with inhaled corticosteroids that control inflammation in the airways.

When a child does have to slow down, Conn said, parents should encourage quiet activities other than TV and video games. Reading, arts and crafts, and crossword puzzles would be better choices, she noted.

The study findings, published in the journal Academic Pediatrics, are based on 224 children, 3 to 10 years old, with doctor-diagnosed asthma.

About two thirds were African American, and most were on Medicaid.

On average, Conn and her colleagues found, the children spent about

3.5 hours per day watching TV, using a computer or playing video games. The majority -- 91 percent -- sometimes had to limit their activities due to asthma symptoms, based on parents' reports.

A good question for future research, Conn said, would be whether improving children's asthma control will reduce their screen time.

SOURCE: Academic Pediatrics, January/February 2009.

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