Anita is a 10-year-old girl attending a rural elementary school. Anita has asthma,
complicated by allergies to ragweed and cedar elm. Her asthma symptoms increase
dramatically on days in which the pollution count is particularly high and she becomes
very ill on days in which there is an ozone alert.
Anita's mother has been very overprotective. She provides countless physician's excuses,
so that Anita is not able to participate regularly in her school's physical education
program. Anita's lack of activity has contributed to obesity, which has created a vicious
cycle. It is difficult for her to move, so she doesn't move, leading to greater obesity, and
her asthma symptoms increase in severity.
How can the physical educator help Anita with her physical activity and encourage
participation in PE?