Easy Way To Lose Weight

As if you don’t have enough health risks if you’re overweight.

Now a new study finds that obese people suffer from persistent or severe persistent asthma much more than thin people.

Researchers from Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta looked at 3,059 adults with asthma, who were separated into 3 groups: obese, overweight, and non-overweight.

When compared to thinner patients, obese patients were 66% more likely to have asthma symptoms all the time, 52% more likely to have severe persistent asthma, and 36% more likely to miss more than 2 days of work per year due to asthma.

Obese people also went to the emergency room more often and used more asthma medication.

The link between asthma and obesity was stronger for women than men.

The researchers aren’t sure why obesity is associated with asthma. But they believe the hormone, leptin, may be a factor.

Leptin, which is produced by fat cells and plays a part in weight regulation, may contribute to airway inflammation.

A new study is underway to see if asthma improves in patients who undergo bariatric (weight loss) surgery.

Technorati Tags: obesity, asthma, bariatric surgery, overweight

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 31st, 2007 at 12:05 am and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.