Added Pounds with Asthma

New research suggests that overweight and obese individuals are fifty percent more likely to develop asthma than normal-weight men and women. “According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, asthma is an incurable but usually controllable chronic disease involving inflammation and narrowing of the airways that carry oxygen into and out of the lungs.” From a recent national survey it was found that sixty-five percent of Americans are either obese or overweight. Research has for awhile suggested connections between asthma and obesity. “In this study, Sutherland and NJMRC colleague Dr. David A. Beuther pored over prior data on the body mass indices -- measurements of body fat based on the height and lightheartedness -- of adult asthma patients.” Sutherland and Beuther adopted standard BMI yardsticks, that defined normal weight, overweight and obese. With a BMI of 25 and up, the risk of developing asthma grew by fifty percent, and from the study it was found that the risk of developing asthma increased as the weight increased. Based on the results of the study, the researchers believe asthma should be included in the long list of diseases, such as diabetes and sleep apnea, for which excess weight is a risk factor. I found this article interesting because it shows how health problems can sometimes lead to other health problems.
Source: http://health.msn.com/centers/asthma/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100160020