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Asthma and Obesity: Is There A Connection?

By Henry J. Fishman, M.D.
ConsumerAffairs.com

September 23, 2005

Asthma • Special Report: Asthma Sufferers Live in Fear of New Inhalers • Asthma Patients Outraged at Indifference to Problems with New Inhalers • Jackie Joyner-Kersee: FDA "Insensitive" to Asthma Patients' Problems • Victims of Government: Asthma Patients' Lives Shattered by 'Green' Inhalers • Consumer Complaints --- • Physicians Question Asthma Treatment • Asthma May Be Overdiagnosed • FDA Studies Asthma Drug's Potential Suicide Link • Indoor Allergens Torment Asthma Sufferers • Patients Balk at New Asthma Inhalers • Study: Farm Kids Have Lower Risk of Asthma • Researchers Link Spray Cleaners With Asthma • National Study Links Asthma to Allergies • Study Finds High Rate of Asthma in College Athletes • Can an Apple a Day Keep Asthma Away? • Survey Shows Asthma Not Controlled in Majority of Patients • Asthma Patients Pay the Price for Ozone Protection • Asthma Linked to Obesity in Women • Researchers Say "Killer" Asthma Inhalers Should Be Recalled • Asthmatic Kids Need No-Smoking Rules • Study: Asthma Patients Think It's Temporary • Female Hormones May Affect Allergies, Asthma • Home-Based Clean-Ups Help Childhood Asthma, Study Finds • Asthma and Obesity: Is There A Connection? • Bacteria in Household Dust May Trigger Asthma Symptoms • Air Pollution, Asthma May Be Linked • Americans Lack Vital Asthma Info: EPA • Researchers Find Ties Between Asthma and Emotion • A Good Laugh Can Trigger Asthma Attack

We’ve got two major epidemics in this country going on at the same time: asthma and obesity. So are they connected?

We don't know for sure. Here’s what we do know. More heavy folk have asthma symptoms and asthma than thin folks.

Beginning in childhood, women with high metabolism indices -- heavy women -- have a stronger association with asthma than men.

A study of 1,000 kids found an association between asthma and being heavy only in girls. The relationship of asthma and obesity in women is highest in women who experienced their period early, suggesting a role for hormones in heavy asthmatic women.

Finally studies have found that heavy women who lose weight improve their asthma though it may simply be that they don’t have to breathe as hard.

We don’t know why obesity and asthma are connected particularly in women. It may be due to hormones. We need a lot more study on the topic.

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