High body weight linked to asthma: Study
Posted on Friday, 23rd December 2011
We recently came across a report stating an association between obese mothers and high birth weight infants. This study by scientists from the American Academy of Pediatrics has put forward a link between asthma and high body weight.
In this study, the scientists aimed to comprehend the effect of high BMI and alterations in BMI over the first 7 years after birth on sensitivity to asthma and allergies. A birth cohort comprising new born infants was observed for a span of 8 years.
Even parents were surveyed and made to fill in questionnaires regarding their kids' health. The height to weight ratio was attained from school and medical records. Cumulatively, information about nearly 2075 children and their asthma status at the age of 8 was inspected.
As per the outcomes, high BMI at ages 1, 4 and 7 years were apparently related to higher risk of asthma by the onset of the eighth year. However, no such link was seen in kids who lost weight by the seventh year but were overweight as infants or at 4 years of age.
Reportedly, the risk was high for children who were overweight at 7 years irrespective of their initial body mass. Also, 7 year old children with greater BMI seemed to experience an elevated rate of sensitization to allergens present in inhalants.
The scientists concluded that high BMI during the first 4 years of life may not increase risk for asthma and allergy if kids have lost weight by the start of the seventh year. However, high BMI at age 7 seemingly came forward as a risk factor for asthma and reactivity to inhalant allergens.