STUDY: Children with recurrent cough, wheezing, chest tightness or shortness of breath may have one or more forms of asthma. Overweight and obese kids are more likely to struggle with asthma than kids of normal weight
DETAILS: Researchers examined electronic health records maintained by Kaiser Permanente for 623,358 children and classified them from normal weight to extremely obese based on their height and weight. Researchers found that children carrying extra weight are between 1.16 to 1.37 times more likely to develop asthma than normal-weight kids. The link between asthma and obesity was particularly pronounced among moderately and extremely obese girls between 6 and 10 years old, who had between 1.36 and 1.56 times higher risk of asthma than normal-weight girls their age. Moderately and extremely obese Asian-Pacific Islander children also were inordinately affected, running between 1.41 and 1.67 times higher risk of asthma
SO WHAT?
Asthma is the most common chronic childhood illness in the United States, affecting one of every 10th kid. Fat is a huge reservoir of toxins. Toxins can of course cause inflammation. Inflammation caused by body fat is suspected to be one factor in the kids’ increased risk of asthma. The extra pounds also might affect the severity of asthma by placing additional weight on a child’s chest
FAQ on Asthma
1. Many babies who wheeze with viral respiratory illnesses will stop wheezing as they grow older. If your child has atopic dermatitis (eczema), allergies or if there is smoking in the home or a strong family history of allergies or asthma, there is a greater chance that asthma symptoms will persist.
2. Can asthma be cured? Not yet. However, for most children and adults, asthma can be controlled throughout life with appropriate diagnosis, education and treatment.
3. Should my child exercise?Once a child’s asthma is controlled, (usually with the help of proper medications) exercise should become part of his or her daily activities. Children with asthma certainly can and do excel in athletics. Many Olympic athletes have asthma.
TAKEAWAY
Families should monitor overweight and obese children closely for signs of asthma.
Source: AAAAI, HealthDay
