Scientists from the University of Southern California believe that children’s bronchial asthma contributes to the world obesity epidemic.
In the course of the largest study of this kind, data from more than 21.1 thousand children born between 1990 and 2008 were analyzed. None of the subjects suffered from obesity at the time of the start of participation in the project. Asthma was diagnosed in them in 3-4 years. Observations on average for each child were made before they were 8 years old.
It turned out that children with asthma are 66% more likely to suffer from obesity than their peers, who did not have such a disease. At the same time, children of slightly older age, who regularly suffer from coughing and asthma attacks, 2 times more often had excess weight that is dangerous to health.
According to researchers, overweight and obesity in children with asthma are associated with intake of corticosteroid drugs in the form of inhalers, which increase appetite and thereby contribute to the recruitment of excess kilograms. In addition, because of wheezing and shortness of breath, such children move much less and go in for sports less often, and this is an additional risk factor for the development of obesity at a young age.
Previously it was believed that obesity is a factor provoking the development of bronchial asthma. Now scientists come to the conclusion that everything is exactly the opposite: it is against the background of asthma that children more often develop obesity.