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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Here's another good reason to shed those extra pounds: Being overweight puts you at significantly higher risk for developing asthma.
That's what scientists from the National Jewish Medical and Research Center concluded in a new review of weight and asthma in more than 333,000 people involved in seven studies.
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Overall, the incidence of asthma was 50-percent higher in people who were overweight or obese. The more people weighed, the more likely they were to have asthma as well, and the effect was about the same in women as in men.
While noting other physiological factors play a role in how well overweight people breath -- extra weight can put a strain on the respiratory system apart from asthma -- the authors believe their finding of a higher asthma incidence in overweight and obese people suggests weight loss might help control the condition.
"If significant weight loss could be achieved in the population of overweight and obese individuals, it could be estimated that the number of new asthma cases in United States adults might fall by as much as 250,000 per year," reports E. Rand Sutherland, M.D., M.P.H, who served as lead author on the study.
Figure children into the mix, and the reduction in asthma cases could be even higher. "If that decrease can be extrapolated to the pediatric population, where the annual incidence of asthma is as much as five-times higher, the effect of even small changes in mean population body mass index may translate into significant decreases in asthma incidence in children and adults," adds Dr. Sutherland.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published online April 2, 2007
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