The article notes asthma cases among American children have more than doubled since 1980, and a study conducted in 1999 by Harvard Medical School was launched to demonstrate a link between asthma and obesity. The study, which tracked 16,862 children between the ages of 9 and 14, concluded that the most overweight children were two to three times more likely to develop asthma than other children. When questioned about the results, lead researcher Carlos Camargo had some theories about the two seemingly unrelated health problems. He also believes inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle may have some effect on the development of asthma. Weight Loss All is not lost, however.
Evidence indicates weight loss comes with a reduction in asthmatic symptoms.
The Sept. 15 issue of American Family Physician discussed a study during which overweight asthmatics were placed on a 14-week regulated diet. Throughout the study, the diet and control subjects received medical care for their asthma as well as regular pulmonary function testing. At the end of the 14-week study, the diet treatment group showed a mean weight loss of 31.2 lb. Additionally, the diet treatment group had a 7.2 percent improvement in its FEV 1 and a difference in FVC values compared to the control group.