Obesity in Children Linked with Asthma Risk

The results of a study published in the current issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology suggest there is an association between being overweight and an increased risk of developing asthma in school-age children.

Dr. Frank D. Gilliland and colleagues from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, examined the association between obesity and new cases of asthma in 3792 children. The subjects, who were participating in the Children's Health Study, were asthma-free at the time of study enrollment.

The researchers evaluated new cases of asthma, along with height, weight, lung function, and asthma risk factors each year between 1993 and 1998.

The authors report that 288 new cases of asthma were diagnosed during follow-up. Among children who were overweight or obese, the risk of developing asthma was increased by 52% and 60%, respectively.

The risk of asthma associated with being overweight was higher in boys than in girls. Children without allergies had an increased risk of asthma associated with being overweight, but children with allergies did not.

These findings may have public health significance, because the increasing rates of overweight and obesity in children may be an important contributor to the increasing rates of asthma, Gilliland and colleagues suggest.

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology 2003.

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