Study Finds Belly Fat, Asthma Link

AMSTERDAM, The NetherlandsA study presented Sept. 25 at the European Respiratory Societys Annual Congress showed a link between belly fat and development of asthma.

For the study, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology followed 23,245 adults without asthma, ages 1955, from the second Norwegian Nord-Trondelag Health Study (HUNT) for 11 years. The participants had their BMI measured along with their waist circumference to test overall obesity and central obesity, respectively. They were also asked to report incidence of asthma.

The results showed that people who were centrally obese but not overall obese were 1.44 times more likely to develop asthma. Additionally, people who were both centrally obese and obese overall were 1.81 times more likely to develop asthma.

Ben Brumpton, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said: Asthma can affect people of all sizes, but our study has highlighted both the individual and combined effect of central obesity and overall obesity on asthma development. Both these measures have an individual impact on asthma and an additive effect when they are combined.

It is not yet clear why this association exists," he continues. Central obesity is closely associated with insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. These factors may play important roles concerning central obesity-related asthma. We will evaluate the effects of these factors on the development of asthma in future studies."