New study reveals link between childhood obesity and asthma

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – An American study showed Wednesday that overweight and obese children and teens were more likely to suffer from asthma.

The researchers say in the journal Pediatrics, or pediatric medicine, that research has long been linked to obesity and asthma in adults, but that it provides conflicting evidence for young people .

This study followed more than 500,000 children ages two to 17, on average, aged two to 17 years. Result: about 8% of these children suffered from asthma.

The study found that overweight children were 17% more likely to develop asthma than healthy children, while obese children were 26% more likely to develop asthma .

When researchers examined the link between asthma and obesity with the help of tests known as breathing tests, which show how easily air is released through the lungs , they found that the correlation was stronger. The study concluded that obesity is associated with an increased risk of asthma by 29%, based on this more accurate diagnostic criterion.

"Experts believe that abnormal lung growth associated with obesity causes airway obstruction," said Jason Lang, of Duke University's Faculty of Medicine in Durham, in northern Ontario. California, and lead author of the study.

He added that obesity could also lead to the emergence of risk factors for metabolic heart disease, such as high cholesterol and inability to use insulin, a hormone, to get energy through sugar in the blood, which could lead to obstruction of the airways.

"Some studies have shown that weight loss greatly improves the symptoms of asthma, but we do not know how that happens," Lang said.

By concluding that there is no excess weight or obesity in children, 10% of asthma cases will be avoided, the researchers conclude.