UCI researchers to study health effects of exercise i...( e in children with chronic diseases and...),Health

The three studies are targeted to begin to fill these gaps in our understanding of the optimal role of exercise in growing children. One study will examine the molecular mechanisms that link inflammatory and growth-factor responses to exercise, and another will look into how exercise stimulates the production of these responses in children with asthma. A third will explore the impact of exercise-associated oxidative stress in obese children.

All three will help determine how these exercise-activated molecular mechanisms are altered by gender, physical-maturity levels and the common pediatric conditions of asthma and obesity. These mechanisms are of particular importance during critical periods of growth and development, when habitual physical activity may affect health, not only in the short term but also for life.

"With what we learn from these studies, we plan to design and test exercise programs that play a positive role with children's health," Cooper said, "both to help lower obesity rates and to allow children with chronic diseases like cystic fibrosis, asthma and neuromuscular diseases to participate in physical activity that will be beneficial."

Along with Cooper, study principal investigators are Greg Adams and Dr. Pietro Galassetti with the Pediatric Exercise Research Center.

About the project

The "Mechanism of Health Effects of Exercise in Children" project will be supported by an administrative core that will promote scientific interaction among the research studies, facilitate subject recruitment and regulatory compliance, and provide statistical expertise. In addition, a pediatric growth, stress and inflammatory mediator core laboratory will ensure optimal and efficient use of analytic resources. The laboratory will be directed by Frank Zaldivar, a pediatr
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Contact: Tom Vasich
tmvasich@uci.edu
949-824-6455
University of California - Irvine
1-May-2006