Background: Little is known about the physical activity patterns among US adults who have asthma.

Methods: Using data for 165,123 respondents of the 2000 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we examined leisure-time physical activity.

Results: After adjusting for age, about 30% of participants with current asthma (12,489 participants), 24% with former asthma (4,892 participants), and 27% who never had asthma (147,742 participants) were considered to be inactive (p < 0.001). After adjusting for age, the estimated energy expenditure from leisure-time physical activity was 206 kilocalories (kcal) per week lower among respondents with current asthma than among respondents with former asthma (p < 0.001) and 91 kcal/week lower than respondents who had never had asthma (p < 0.001). About 27% of participants with current asthma, 28% of participants with former asthma, and 28% of participants who had never had asthma were participating in recommended levels of physical activity. Walking was the most frequently reported activity for all three groups (respondents with current asthma, 39%; respondents with former asthma, 39%; and respondents who had never had asthma, 38%. Participants with asthma were less likely to engage in running (p < 0.001), basketball (p = 0.001), golf (p < 0.001), and weightlifting (p = 0.001) but were more likely to use an exercise bicycle (p = 0.035) than were participants without asthma.

Conclusions: Like most US adults, the majority of those with asthma were not meeting the current recommendations for physical activity.