How Does Obesity Affect Asthma?

"While the precise mechanism is not yet known, obesity appears to play a role in airway hyperresponsiveness and asthma severity."

Obesity, increasingly prevalent in children as well as in adults, is a recognized risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and some forms of cancer.  According to PulmonaryReviews.com evidence suggests that obesity may also contribute to or even cause asthma.

• Asthma prevalence is increased in obese persons.
• Obese patients with severe asthma account for 75% of emergency department visits for asthma
• When morbidly obese asthma patients lose weight, there is a decrease in asthma symptoms and severity

The PR article by Gale Jurasek discusses further the how the characteristics REDUCED PULMONARY FUNCTION and INCREASED INFLAMMATION present in the obese patient contribute to onset of asthma.REDUCED PULMONARY FUNCTION

• Increased abdominal and chest wall mass in obese people causes lower functional residual capacity
• Obese persons breathe at higher frequencies—but substantially smaller tidal volumes
• Weight loss improves lung function, it does not affect airway responsiveness. This is consistent with the hypothesis that obesity plays a role in irreversible airway remodeling.

INCREASED INFLAMMATION

• Chronic low-level systemic inflammation is present in obese persons
• Adipose tissue also contains leptin, adiponectin, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, all of which contribute to airway hyperresponsiveness
• Plasma adiponectin levels are decreased in obese individuals but increase with weight loss

“In summary,” the authors concluded, “the incidence of asthma is increased in the obese. The importance of understanding this relationship is underscored by the extremely high prevalence of obesity in inner-city children, who are at the greatest risk of asthma, and by observations indicating that obesity is a strong predictor of the persistence of childhood asthma into adolescence.”read the entire pulmonaryreview.com articleFor more on Childhood Obesity and Asthma read this CDC.com article, Healthy Weight - it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle!