Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist
When obese women shed weight, their lung function and exercise capacity improve, according to a study from Canada.
Overweight places a strain on the respiratory muscles, making them work harder and less efficiently. That is why obese people soon get out of breath and don't find it easy to exercise (an irony, as this might help them lose weight). Many obese people have asthma but, after a new study, researchers in Ottawa, Canada, now wonder if some cases are being misdiagnosed.
The team had a group of 58 obese women undergo a six month weight reduction program, consisting of diet and exercise. They lost, on average, nearly 20 per cent of their body weight and their lung function and exercise capacity increased markedly. But losing weight did not affect airway reactivity, which is the hallmark sign of asthma. Forty one per cent of the women had asthma but the researchers wonder if their symptoms might not have been attributable to obesity. Further research is now needed to clarify the possible relationship between obesity and misdiagnosis of asthma.
Source
Chest June 2004