Unravelling the obesity-asthma connection in childhood and adolescence: does body shape matter?

Given the concurrent worldwide epidemics of childhood obesity and asthma, it is perhaps not surprising that the two have been inextricably linked in the minds of many. Indeed, there is good evidence to suggest that adiposity in childhood is associated with an increased risk of developing asthma.1 2 Several longitudinal studies conducted in population-based cohorts have demonstrated that childhood obesity precedes incident asthma. One such study, from Taiwan, found that adiposity gain before age 6 years was good at predicting childhood-onset asthma, while adiposity gain during the prepubertal period was best at predicting young adult-onset asthma.3 More recently, however, we have seen rates of new asthma diagnoses in children and adolescents begin to fall in some countries, while childhood obesity continues to increase. This disconnect in asthma and obesity trends signals that there is likely a lot more to the relationship between obesity...
Source: Thorax - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Thorax Editorial Source Type: research