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One study suggests that the epidemic of obesity could fuel the rise of asthma in children.
US researchers found that obese children were 30% more likely to develop lung disease than children with a healthy weight, while being overweight increased the risk by 17%.
The team from Duke University in North Carolina studied the medical records of 500,000 children during their visit to the doctor between 2009 and 2015, for a total of 19 million appointments.
The results suggest that one in 10 asthma is related to weight gain.
If the results were replicated in Britain, where 1.1 million young people under 18 years old suffer from asthma, it would mean that more than 100,000 children could have avoided the disease if they had reached a normal size.
Although previous research has suggested that children with asthma are more likely to be obese because they are unable to exercise, the authors of the new study said it was seemed now that the weight itself was at the origin of the disease.
"I think it's reasonable to fear that it's a cause-and-effect relationship," said Dr. Jason Lang, badociate professor of pediatrics at Duke and lead author of the study.
"It seems that becoming overweight or obese as a child significantly increases your risk of developing asthma, and this is a significant increase, again drawing attention to the fact that you are not going to be overweight or obese. Pay attention to the importance of preventing obesity at an early age.
"Obesity may be the only risk factor for asthma in the child that could be avoided.
"This is another proof that it is important to keep kids active and to have a healthy weight."
Too much weight is thought to prevent the lungs from expanding properly, forcing patients to take a smaller, shallower breath, which can make the airways worse. This can also trigger an inflammation in the body that can trigger asthma attacks.
About one in 11 children suffer from asthma in the UK and about 1,410 people die from this condition each year.
"Pediatric asthma is one of the most common childhood diseases and entails high costs for patients, families, and the health system in general," said Chief Scientist Terri Finkel, chief scientist. , who participated in the study.
"There are few preventable risk factors for reducing the incidence of asthma.
"But our data shows that reducing the onset of obesity in children could significantly reduce the burden of asthma on public health.
"Addressing obesity in children should be a priority to help improve the quality of life of children and help reduce asthma in children."
The research was published in the journal & # 39; Pediatrics & # 39 ;. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
Irish independent
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