{
  "id": 5405040,
  "title": "Increasing daily steps is as effective as aerobic exercise in managing asthma",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/increasing-daily-steps-is-as-effective-as-aerobic-exercise-in",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-03T20:20:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-daily-effective-aerobic-asthma.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent study published in the journal Pulmonology suggests that increasing daily steps may be just as effective as structured aerobic exercise in managing moderate to severe asthma. Researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP) found that both approaches improved quality of life, alleviated symptoms of anxiety and depression, and controlled asthma in the medium term. Doctoral researcher David Halen Araújo Pinheiro led the study, which involved 480 patients with uncontrolled asthma who were physically inactive and receiving medical treatment. Participants were randomly assigned to either an aerobic training group, which attended supervised treadmill sessions twice a week, or a behavioral intervention group, which received guidance to increase walking and set weekly step goals using smartwatches. After two months, both groups showed similar improvements in clinical control of asthma, quality of life, and mental health symptoms. After four months, the aerobic group increased daily steps by 1,537 compared to baseline, while the behavioral group increased by 1,126 steps. Despite some differences in step counts, both groups maintained better asthma control and overall health benefits compared to their baseline measurements. The researchers emphasize that both interventions complement medication prescribed by doctors and that patients should continue their medical treatment as recommended by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA).",
  "summary": "For people with moderate to severe asthma, increasing the number of daily steps may be as effective as structured aerobic training sessions for managing the disease. This finding comes from a study led by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) and published in the journal Pulmonology.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}