Losing weight could reduce your risk for asthma and improve your overall lung function

As if we need more reasons to lose weight – researchers at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colorado, report that people who are overweight or obese are at increased risk for asthma and respiratory problems.

In fact, the investigators reported that obesity could cause problems with lung function including reduced lung volume – which results in shortness of breath– and an increase in the amount of oxygen used with each breath, separate to developing asthma. Being obese or overweight also appears to contribute to sleep apnea and gastroesophageal reflux, they report. These conditions can bring about symptoms of breathlessness and wheezing, which in turn can be mistaken for asthma by parents, patients, and doctors alike. So if you are overweight, not only are you at risk for developing asthma, but also for developing symptoms that could be mistaken for asthma.

The findings are from a meta-analysis of 7 studies that looked at severe asthma in 333,102 asthmatic patients – so a very large patient population. The results were clear-cut – with the effect of obesity on the risk for asthma being statistically significant. Based on their findings, the investigators recommend that asthma be added to the list of chronic illnesses, which includes diabetes, arthritis, stroke, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, hypertension, and cancer – that are associated with obesity.

Currently, in the United States alone, some 65% of the adult population is overweight. Asthma, a disease characterized by difficult breathing, thick mucus production, coughing, and wheezing, affects 7% of US adults – in 2004 that translated into 20.5 million Americans.

But the news isn’t all bad. Having done the math, the investigators suggest that “if significant weight loss could be achieved in the population of overweight and obese individuals, it could be estimated that the number of new asthma cases in the United States might fall by as much as 250,000 per year:” that’s a considerable number of people.

Importantly, the researchers also suggest that weight loss in overweight and obese children could dramatically reduce the incidence of pediatric asthma – where the annual incidence is 5 times higher than that of the adult population.

Given that summer is fast approaching, it becomes even more important to consider losing those extra pounds. And this is not just to get into your summer clothes. As the temperature increases over the summer, very often so does the air pollution. This can affect your breathing. Speaking from first hand knowledge – my mother is asthmatic – the summer is when many people end up in the emergency ward because they’re having difficulty breathing due in part to poor air quality.

So losing some weight could not only get you into that bathing suit this summer, but may also prevent a trip to the emergency room in your bathing suit. Personally, I don’t need any more reason than that to lose the extra pounds.

The study was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society, April 2007.

Reviewed April 13^th, 2007

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