Obesity and asthma - No link in kids

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 15 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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There is no casual link between obesity and asthma in kids, say a group of researchers in Toronto (Canada).

After studying 12,000 Canadian children, the study showed no significant association between obesity in kids and asthma, according to Teresa To (Team leader).

To and colleagues from the Hospital for Sick Children used data from a Statistics Canada survey to look at the issue.

'And we found that obesity did not show any statistical relationship with asthma -- either in boys or girls,' said To, a senior scientist in the Sick Kids Research Institute.

The survey, conducted in 1994-95, asked parents of 11,199 children aged four through 11 to list their heights and weight. It also asked questions designed to determine if children had asthma.

The survey is conducted every two years and the researchers plan to analyse data from later versions to check that their findings continue to hold true.

To suggested the theory that obesity and asthma were linked may have arisen from the fact the two share common risk factors.

Children today spend a great deal of time indoors, watching television and playing computer games. Being indoors a lot increases a child's exposure to household allergens; being sedentary puts a child at increased risk of being overweight.

'By living a sedentary lifestyle, it puts you at a higher chance of being obese and also having asthma,' To explained. 'So in a sense, asthma and obesity may not be linked, but they're both linked to the way we live today.'

The researchers did find that children whose mothers had asthma were more likely to have the condition themselves. As well, girls were at higher risk of having asthma if they had no siblings, or if their mothers suffered depression.

The study was published in the February issue of the Journal of Pediatrics